Guardians of the Seal
by Thanathos
Summary: When the Shinigami sealed the Kyuubi, there were 3 souls present that had the power to restrain the Kyuubi. These warriors were sealed into Naruto together with the beast. When the villagers awoke it, they awoke as well. Strong Naruto.
1. Prologue

Guardians of the Seal

Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

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History is decided by those who sit down and record it. They in turn are bound by the information they receive, and their own honesty.

It is said that when the First Hokage fought Madara Uchiha in the Valley of the End, he managed to gain a narrow victory, but succumbed to his injuries shortly before he reached the village. His brother, the later Nidaime, who had accompanied his brother and was badly wounded himself, had reported that Madara had been completely obliterated by the Shodai. However, should one open the Shodai's tomb...

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_Thirteen years prior to the Kyuubi-attack_

A pale man with slitted eyes entered the secret catacombs of the Hokages. He, Orochimaru, greatest of the Sannin, was standing before two coffins of solid stone. There was room for more coffins, but they had yet to be placed. And why should they be? The old fossil had yet to surrender his seat or drop dead, so there was no need to bury him yet. And afterwords, when he was Hokage, there would be no need to bury him, as he would be the immortal Hokage. After all, his only real competition for the seat of Hokage was the Yellow Flash Minato Namikaze, and that the goofy ramen-freak would become Hokage was more than doubtful.

But Orochimaru hadn't come here to ponder, nor out of some sentimental reason. He carefully inspected the coffins, checking for seals or other means that would show it had been opened. Finding nothing, he carefully opened the coffin closest to him. He smiled as he recognized the corpse of the Nidaime, bedded in dried flowers and with a few personal belongings that were useless to Orochimaru. He could have used the sword, but such powerful objects were sadly not placed inside of coffins in case situations like these occurred. But the body itself was in an amazingly good condition, considering how long the man was dead already. Orochimaru suspected that the low temperatures, it was freezing in here, had preserved the remains. Scavengers were kept out by the coffin and it was simply too cold for most bacteria that decomposed remains to function.

Orochimaru grinned as he collected DNA-samples. Hair was good, better than skin but not as good as blood, but the DNA in it lasted the longest, and Orochimaru took all three before carefully resealing the coffin. After all, he didn't want the old fossil or anyone else to find out about about this. Then he turned his attention to coffin number 2.

He had to suppress a grin. Christmas had come early this year. While the Nidaime's abilities would be useful, it was the other carcass that truly captivated his attention. The Shodai, who could control wood and even subjugate the bijuu, second only to Madara Uchiha. Orochimaru could hardly wait to experiment with that power. He opened the coffin... And nearly howled in rage.

It was empty! Only a few dried-up flowers and useless personal items. Where was the Shodai's corpse? Had someone learned of his plan? No, if that were the case, both corpses would have been removed and he would have faced the old fossil and a squad of ANBU by now. Which left only two conclusions. Either someone else had also thought of Orochimaru's idea and took it first, unlikely seeing as he wouldn't have left the second corpse... or the coffin had been empty from the start. That had to be it! But how? Why? He rummaged through the items, in desperate hope of finding something, _anything_ of use.

Then he found it. A short lock of hair, apparently some sort of good-luck charm. It had the right color, black, but that didn't have to mean much. But with the sentimental fools living here, it was likely they wanted to bury at least something of their leader. Orochimaru looked at the hair. It wasn't much, but it would have to do. The hair should have enough DNA for his purposes. And the material he gained from the Nidaime would also give him a few interesting experiments. But he couldn't help but wonder where the Shodai's corpse was.

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_Valley of the End, Great Battle_

Madara breathed heavily as he allowed himself a short look around. Not far from him, maybe thirty feet to his left, the Kyuubi, greatest of the nine beasts lay helpless, bound by countless roots, unable to move. In front of him stood his rival and greatest foe, Hashirama Senju, equally exhausted. Most of his weapons were broken and scattered over the battlefield. Another forty feet behind him was his brother, laying on the ground with multiple deep cuts from Madara's scythe. He was bleeding badly, but he would live if left alone.

Madara wondered what had possessed his rival and in a way, his friend, to bring the boy along. While the mastery he displayed over water was impressive, the boy simply lacked both experience and skill to compete with either of them.

Madara's gaze returned to Hashirama, then he closed his eyes. When he opened them again, the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan had faded from his eyes, revealing the normal Sharingan with it's three tomoe. Then he laughed.

Hashirama looked at him. "What is so amusing Madara?"

Said person calmed down. "Simple, even you have to admit that we are fighting a battle like there never was one before. Look around, our struggle has formed a valley."

Hashirama nodded, a small smile gracing his features. "While I take no joy out of war and combat, even I must admit what happens here will become legend. But tell me, what now?"

Madara tilted his head. "We are both almost completely out of chakra, there is no point in either of us denying that. In skill and strength, we are equals. I would even say that under normal circumstances, you may have very well defeated me here. However Hashirama, you have made a fool's error. You have someone you need to shield, for I can kill him even without my chakra."

Hashirama's eyes widened as he realized that Madara was right. In a fight man against man, he would have likely won, as his most powerful blade was still intact. However, if Madara redirected his attacks to Tobirama, he would take the hits. And then he'd be too weakened to withstand Madara's assault.

Tobirama was cursing himself.

He had insisted on joining his brother, claiming that against the fire-jutsus the Uchiha were famous for, his abilities with water might be useful. Not that his brother wasn't skilled with water, but it was unlikely Madara would fight them close to the river, knowing the weakness of his skills just as well as they did, and his ability to draw the moisture out of the air and multiply it would be a help. And it had, until Madara had tired of his interventions and took him out of the fight in an instant. Tobirama had only figured out what had hit him when he noticed his blood dripping down Madara's scythe.

And now his brother would die because he had to shield him, and when his brother fell, the only barrier between Madara and Konoha would fall with him. Nobody else in the Leaf was as skilled as Madara, and without Hashirama, the fox would wreck havoc in the village.

The sound of bursting wood and a deafening roar pulled all three out of their thoughts. They saw that the fox had broken it's restraints and it's head was shooting towards Hashirama and Madara, tilted sideways to give the bite the widest range possible.

For an instant, Madara seemed confused, then he understood. Both he and Hashirama had made a fatal mistake. They had both used too much chakra and were now unable to tame the beast. Hashirama was too weakened to restrain it and he himself couldn't keep his Eternal Mangekyo active anymore. Normally, the continued activation wouldn't be necessary, but Madara had noticed that unlike any other creature, including the other bijuu as far as he had researched, the Kyuubi would break it's mental restraints almost instantly if he deactivated the Mangekyo. And he had just done that. They had been fools to simply forget the beast and use so much chakra, and now they would pay for it.

He sighed, knowing he couldn't even delay the inevitable. He had always wondered if it was true that ones entire life flashed before ones eyes if they met certain death. When one was in a situation where he was facing death and said force told him: _"I'm here. In five seconds, you're dead. Spend them however you want, I'll give you that much time."_,you'd see a best-of of your entire life of sorts.

He had doubted it, after all, once you were dead, nobody would know. Dead men tell no tales, as they say. But to his own surprise, he indeed remembered the single best thing in his life, which had been the most painful to loose: his brother.

"Izuna, I'm sorry." He whispered. Hashirama heard him and gave him a sympathetic smile. He was the last to deny the love Madara held for his brother, even though many others did. He remembered like it had been yesterday.

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_Flashback_

Hashirama had expected much, but not this. He had taken over the Senju-clan two weeks ago, and now his rival, Madara Uchiha, also freshly baked clan-leader of the Uchihas, was standing before him. He had already rubbed his eyes and pinched himself to make sure he wasn't seeing things. He straitened himself.

"What do you want here, Madara Uchiha?" He asked. The man bit his lip, it was obvious he was swallowing his pride.

"I wish to request your aid." He said, his voice betraying no emotion.

Hashirama raised a brow. He had expected anything, from clan talk to an assassination-attempt, but not this. "How exactly are we supposed to help you?" He asked.

Madara stared at the ground. "My brother has infected himself with a unknown disease. We have tried everything, and nothing has worked. We... I need your help." His voice had begun to shake.

Hashirama nodded, he had heard that Izuna was bedridden. The Senju-clan had thrown a small party when they heard the news that one of the feared Mangekyo-wielders was down for the count. "But why turn to us? Of course we have a few medical prodigies, but there are other good medics outside of our clan."

Now Madara looked up, with sorrow and desperation in his eyes and voice. "Don't you think I've already tried? I've went everywhere, but no one can help him!"

"Watch your tongue!" One of the Senju-members shouted, clearly enjoying watching Madara squirm. Then Madara did something no one would have ever expected.

He bowed. He dropped to his knees and bowed until his forehead touched the ground. "I beg of you, help my brother."

Everyone knew the Uchihas were proud before anything else. For Madara to throw his pride so far out the window, he had to be truly desperate. Hashirama looked at his own brother. If Tobirama were to fall sick and nobody but the Uchiha had the means to cure him, would he bow before Madara as said was now bowing before him? The answer was obvious. Yes, he would. He'd be on his knees, he'd be kissing Madara's feet if there was a chance it would help. He rose from his seat.

"Stand up." He said.

Madara slowly rose, fear and a sliver of hope in his eyes. Hashirama rose his voice. "As leader of the Senju-clan, I hereby accept your request. We will send a group of our best medics with you and they will do all in their power to help your brother. This is not up for discussion." He added when pandemonium broke out in the compound.

And the medics had helped, albeit reluctantly. They had managed to cure Izuna Uchiha of his disease, but said man would likely never regain his full abilities as a ninja. The disease had simply done too much damage to muscles and nerves they couldn't cure. He could still be ninja, but never be as strong or fast as he was before, upper middle-class at best.

Shortly after, Izuna had begged Madara to take his eyes, saying that in his condition he was not as important to the Uchiha as Madara and that blindness was nothing Madara could afford. Madara had argued for hours before reluctantly giving in. the operation was a success and Izuna even found a way to remain a ninja despite his blindness. He had developed a jutsu that replaced his eyes and was even able to return to the battlefield.

Where he eventually fell by the hand of a small, relatively unknown clan. Madara would have accepted his brother's death, as fatalities occur in war, but that clan had desecrated his brothers corpse. The same day that Izuna's corpse was found, the compound of the clan that had desecrated him burned to the ground in black fire. There were no survivors.

_Flashback end_

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Hashirama nodded at Madara, before using his last chakra to summon a root that shoved Tobirama out of harm's way and the fox's jaws. He looked at Madara. "It was an honor." he said.

"Likewise." Madara replied.

A moment later, the jaws snapped shut, and Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha were no more.

The Kyuubi growled in satisfaction, then in surprise as the vegetation started to attack it while black fire spread over it's back. Apparently, the two great warriors wouldn't go down without a fight.

The fox jumped back, then it quickly vanished, leaving Tobirama for dead. But he wasn't. He dragged himself back to the village and told them a lie about what happened. It wasn't evil intention, he just had yet to fully comprehend what had happened himself. Later he put a lock of Hashirama's hair into his coffin, so that something of him would lay there once the henged bunshin dismissed itself.

_Sequence end_

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History may be distorted, both out of evil and good intentions. It is said that the Forth Hokage Minato Namikaze sacrificed his life to slay the great Kyuubi when it attacked the leaf. Some know better, but choose to remain silent. Others wish they had remained silent and now tried to force a silence. Why?

The Kyuubi is a demon, and demons are immortal and nothing short of the end of the world can kill them. With one exception. Any demon may be sealed inside of a person, and should that person die without releasing his prisoner, he'll drag the demon with him to death. But that is a knowledge long forgotten.

But the Yondaime, without knowing that he walked the only path leading to a demon's true demise, sealed the Kyuubi in the navel his his only hours-old son, Naruto. For the seal he summoned the Shinigami, who demands souls in return for his service, seeing it was the only being powerful enough to rip the Kyuubi's soul from it's body. But when the Shinigami is summoned by mortals, only devours souls in pairs...

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Sarutobi sighed. He had made the mistake of informing the accursed council of Naruto's status as a jinchuuriki. What had he been thinking?

The council was a invention of the Nidaime. He had correctly presumed that the Hokage would not be able to handle everything, and chose to call for aid. For military matters, the clan heads and other qualified ninja would advise the Hokage. In civilian matters, merchants and other qualified people would be helping the Hokage to lessen his load. It sounded perfect and on paper, it had looked even better.

The Nidaime had later told Sarutobi that he was absolutely certain he had been drunk at the time he created the council. While the idea was good, the reality was different. The council had gotten used to the power and started to abuse it on a regular basis. Nothing major, except a major annoyance that instead of helping the Hokage cope with his work, they were adding more of it.

And now this. Not even five seconds after Sarutobi revealed that the Kyuubi was not slain, but sealed inside of Naruto, the council had demanded his death. Mostly the civilians. Sarutobi had to fight the urge to kill some of the civilians that had the nerve to speak of losses when they had arrived only after the Kyuubi had been sealed. He was glad that most of the shinobi were keeping silent, Danzo being one of the unfortunate exceptions.

The man seemed dead set on turning the boy into a weapon, something Sarutobi would never allow. He sighed again. Life for young Naruto Uzumaki would not be easy.

He had no idea how right he was.

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AND CUT! And the first chapter is done. This story was basically one of those ideas that won't leave you alone until they're written down. Tell me what you think, is it any good? Should I continue or just toss it overboard?

Kyuubi will be goodish in this fic. It'll fight for the right side, but maybe not quite for the right reasons.

As you noticed, I'm assuming in this fic that what Madara said about his brother, which even I think is bullshit, was true. I described the battle the way I did because I remembered a fan-made manga I read a while ago where Madara was facing both the Shodaime and the Nidaime. Don't ask me where that manga was, I forgot.

And someone (I forgot who) pointed out a few things on his homepage, namely there being no council and that Naruto never suffered physical abuse. While I wholeheartedly agree, this is fanfiction, so we can change that. A council makes it easier to make bad guys, and physical abuse gives so much more reasons not to like the village. The masses like tearjerkers, and it opens paths for new possibilities. While I won't use it, eye-transplantations with bloodlines are a good example.

As for pairings, I have a few ideas, but nothing solid- so, I'm open for suggestions.

I don't know if the idea has ever been used before, I hope not, but if it has, that is a coincident. I'm not stealing anyone's ideas, any fanfic-writer's ideas anyway.

And now please do me a favor:

Please Review


	2. Life in the Leaf

Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

"talking"

'thoughts'

_**Bijuu/Summon**_

"SHOUTING"

_Jutsu_

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Within the village hidden in the leaves, a freshly turned 7 year old was running for his life. His name was Naruto Uzumaki and he was getting desperate. He would have been long gone by now, but he had forgotten Gama-chan, his purse, in his apartment. Normally he would have left it there, but it was Tuesday and he had just received his weekly allowance yesterday. The villagers would beyond a doubt raid and thrash his apartment and if they found Gama-chan, all his savings plus this weeks money would be gone and he would again be closer to starvation.

Naruto was, for some reason he didn't understand, the most hated boy in the entire village. He had been thrown out of the orphanage two years ago and lived on the streets for a few months until he had managed to sneak into the Hokage tower and tell jiji they had thrown him out. Once the old Hokage learned of this, and that his secretary had always sent him away when he tried to talk to him, Naruto got a small apartment and a weekly allowance, while the secretary was fired.

But his situation had not improved much. While he no longer had to steal simply to survive, he still had to pay ridiculous prices for food that was bordering on rotten at best. The only exception was a ramen-stand run by a nice old man named Teuchi and his daughter Ayame. They were nice to him and even gave him the occasional free bowl of ramen. But Naruto knew he couldn't go there in his situation.

Most of the times, the villagers simply ignored him, acting like he didn't exist, at least when when they weren't overcharging him, only occasionally beating him. But on October 10th, things got really bad. It was the day the nine-tailed fox, Kyuubi, was defeated by the Yondaime, but it was also Naruto's birthday. For some reason, large mobs shouting something about demons tended to gather that day to hurt him and Naruto spent his birthday's running for his life.

The orphanage had never offered him protection from those people, the people there had actually tried to hold him so he couldn't get away. On his fourth birthday, he had tried running to Hokage-jiji, but the secretary had stopped him and called out to inform the mob of his location. That year, only the ANBU the Sandaime had placed on Naruto had stood between him and certain death.

Ichiraku-ramen didn't offer any protection, they couldn't beat the mob and Naruto didn't want to drag them into this.

Naruto wondered what he had done to deserve such treatment, but he had no idea. It couldn't be his pranks, they were harmless and the villagers had hated him long before he started pranking people so they would look at him. Naruto was craving for attention, he was terrified of the loneliness that had claimed more and more of his life. He was cheerful and trusting by nature and even the beatings and glares couldn't change that, but the loneliness was tearing him apart. Well, the people chasing him seemed to try and take over that job.

He decided to do what he, since his fifth birthday, always did when there was a mob on his tail: He ran into the forest. There was a nee-chan living there that offered him protection ever since he had met her exactly two years ago. Well, maybe he just thought she was nice because she threw the sharp objects at the mob, not him. But her performance at their first meeting was beyond a doubt the coolest and most disturbing thing he had ever seen.

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_Flashback: Naruto's fifth birthday_

Naruto had run into the forest, desperate to escape the more than one-hundred people that were running after him. They were gaining fast, and Naruto ground to a halt when he suddenly saw a girl in a trench-coat standing before him. She didn't look like she was after him, simply because she looked just as surprised as he did. But the stop had cost him. The mob slowly came to a halt before them.

"Well well, what have we here?" One of the villagers spoke. "The snake-whore and the demon-brat, both at the same place. Guess what bitch, it's your lucky day. Hand over the brat and we'll let you go unharmed. If you try to fight, then you'll share his fate."

The girl let her gaze wander over the villagers with their makeshift weapons. She saw a couple of Chunin, but to her relief no Jonin or ANBU. She glared at the speaker. "So, now you want to kill this poor boy? No chance in hell!"

The man shrugged. "Don't say we didn't give you a choice." With that, they slowly came closer.

The girl pushed Naruto behind her and grabbed a few pills. Naruto looked at her as she ate them. Nobody but jiji and those masked people had ever helped him. He heard her mutter "I really hope this works. Even with the soldier pills, it might not be enough. Well, here goes something."

With that, she bit her thumb, formed a few hand-signs and shouted _"__Kuchiyose no Jutsu!__"_

Smoke blocked Naruto's sight and when it cleared, a giant snake with horns was in front of them. It's huge body was purple and had black stripes, and it was looking right at them.

"_**Who daress ssummon Manda?!"**_ The giant serpent hissed, yet his voice was deafening. Naruto and the entire mob gulped.

The girl looked ready to faint from exhaustion, but she managed to speak. "Great Manda, I have summoned you. My name is Anko Mitarashi."

Manda looked at her. _**"For what purposse have you ssummoned me, girl?"**_

Anko bowed. "I would not dare made demands on our first meeting. But, as an apology for my audacity to summon your lordship, and as an offering, I have gathered these sacrifices. They are yours." She pointed at the mob. Manda's gaze left her and landed upon the villagers, who were now frightened out of their minds.

"_**127 ssacrificcess. Very well young ssummoner, you are forgiven."**_ Manda hissed. Some villagers tried to run, but with one of the explosive bursts of speed snakes are famous for, Manda had shot forwards and swallowed them whole. Then he looked at Anko. _**"You may ssummon me if needed, but I demand ssacrificcess for my sservicce. How many dependss on why you call me."**_

Anko weakly raised a hand. "May I pay these in advance? And if so, how many offerings is the minimum I must gather before the sacrifice?"

Manda seemed to consider the question. _**"Very well."**_ He replied _**"But I demand at leasst forty offeringss when summoned, unlesss my power iss needed, then, we will deccide the pricce."**_

With that, he vanished and Anko collapsed. Naruto supported her so that she wouldn't fall. He smiled at her. "Thank you for helping me."

Anko grinned. "No problem, kid. We outcasts have to stick together now, don't we? Just come to me if more idiots are chasing you, I'll send them packing with a kunai up their ass and a pair of balls lighter."

Naruto didn't quite understand just what she would do, but he nodded.

And even though villagers screamed for the demon-brat's and the snake-whore's heads for the disappearance of over a hundred 'honest, hardworking villagers', the Sandaime never found any proof that linked Naruto or Anko to the mysterious disappearances. Not that he tried hard to find any.

_Flashback end_

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Naruto had managed to hide Gama-chan, but afterward he found that the villagers had blocked all escape paths out of the village and were now searching for him. Naruto realized that this was planned by someone, and that his protectors were probably kept away from him. He was on his own.

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The council, the civilian part, the Hokage's advisers and Fugaku Uchiha to be more precise, felt the urge to give themselves a pat on the back. Their plan was brilliant.

The demon was trapped inside the village with no escape, and all four ANBU that were assigned to guard him today had been worked to the ground during the last weeks until they had forgotten the date. Then others, comrades as they would think, would come along and convince the watchers to skip their duty, saying that their partner, guarding Naruto was always a two-man job, could watch the boy alone for one day. After all, they deserved a break. All four would then be kept away from anything that could jog their memory, they had even delayed the festival for that, including each other.

Yes, Itachi Uchiha, Kakashi Hatake, Yuugao Uzuki and Tenzo really deserved a day off, and the council, in their limitless compassion, made sure they got it.

As for the Hokage, he would be caught up in pointless meetings with the council for the entire day. While the other clan-heads were getting annoyed by the civilians, Fugaku could hardly suppress a smirk. After all, one of the watchers, his son Itachi, who additionally had been worked into the ground by the clan, was probably spending a nice day with his best friend, Shisui. Itachi would probably forget Naruto Uzumaki ever existed.

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Itachi sighed. The last weeks had been more than exhausting, with both the Council and his clan working him into the ground. Normally that wouldn't have stopped him from performing his duty to watch Naruto, but Shisui had met him this morning and they ended up hanging out close to the Uchiha-district. The river was next to them, separating them from the rest of Konoha, Itachi had a few sticks of pocky and he could finally relax with his best friend.

Shisui was right. The other ANBU should be able to watch Naruto alone for one day. He'd apologize to the Hokage, and to Naruto, who he had started to see as a second little brother, tomorrow. What could possibly happen?

Shisui hid a evil smirk. Unlike Itachi, he knew exactly what day it was and what would happen. He never liked the blond kid that somehow managed to befriend Itachi and he was more than willing to keep his best friend busy until the little hell-spawn was dead. Then he would play clueless and life would go on. It seemed foolproof.

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Kakashi and another ANBU he knew as Nezumi, due to his rat-mask, were sitting on a bench, noses buried in a little orange book. Nezumi had convinced the completely overworked Kakashi to skip his watch-duty in favor of a visit to a certain bookstore. Jiraya the toad sage had just released a book that would later come to be known as the predecessor of the Icha-Icha-series and Kakashi had been itching to buy and read it, but he hadn't found the time, seeing as it came out only two days ago. No harm in a little reading, he'd just apologize to whoever his partner for today was, the Hokage and Naruto later.

He liked Naruto. Unlike man idiots, he not only saw a remarkable resemblance between the boy and his own sensei, but he also had the brain-capacity to add two and two. Naruto was the Yondaime's son, he had even managed to get the Sandaime to admit it. But Naruto would forgive him for missing one day.

Behind the mask, Nezumi couldn't help but smirk. He had lost his entire family to the demon, but instead of getting its deserved fate, the abomination was walking around like he owned the place, mocking them all with its sheer presence, basking in the protection the kind old Sandaime was foolishly giving him. But this would end today. Kakashi was much too tired and focused on his little book to remember the Kyuubi-festival.

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Tenzo sighed. Even though he admitted that he desperately needed a break, he still felt guilty about skipping his duty to watch Naruto. It simply went against his nature and training to ignore orders, but Usagi in his rabbit-mask had a point. Tenzo needed rest, and the chance that a mob huge enough to overpower even a lone ANBU before he signaled for backup was incredibly small. So he had, against better knowledge, agreed to spend a day on the outdoor garden of a certain restaurant.

Usagi knew that there would be no ANBU to help the demon-brat today. she had adored the Yondaime, and that the great man had fallen while his murderer was walking around in the very village his hero had died to defend from him, mimicking the Yondaime's face to further humiliate them no less, was an unforgivable blasphemy. And today the grand task the Yondaime had began would finally end today. And she would play an important role in the completion of this noble quest. She could almost see the Yondaime smiling at him from the heavens.

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Yuugao couldn't help but release a sigh. She had just left the hot-springs Yacho (boar) had more or less dragged her into. Despite her exhaustion, she had never minded watching Naruto. If he wasn't about to be beaten by some stupid drunks, he was quite fun to watch. But even she had to admit that she really needed a break. And now Yacho convinced her to go shopping. She originally refused, intending to go to Naruto, but Yacho had used the one trump that always worked: Gecko Hayate.

Now she was looking around, checking which clothes Gecko would most likely like to see her in. She'd make it up to Naruto somehow. Probably by inviting him to ramen, he'd forgive everything if you did that.

Yashu's face was split by a grin of pure evil, hidden behind his mask. While he had not lost anyone in the attack, he utterly despised demons. They didn't belong in this world, it was made for humans, not that filth that littered it. So he volunteered when the question who should distract Yuugao's attention away from the fox-brat that was parading itself right under his nose. He had worked together with Yuugao on a few missions, so she hadn't suspected anything when he had convinced her to take a day off. Everyone of the watcher's 'distractions' had worked with their targets and developed loose friendships, that had been an important criteria for who had been chosen.

By now, the well-organized mob should have cornered the fox. It was a shame he couldn't join the hunt, but some sacrifices had to be made.

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And the mob had indeed managed to corner Naruto. He had managed to hide Gama-chan, but unfortunately there hadn't been enough time to hide himself, and every path leading to the forest where the nice Nee-chan was living had been blocked. There were not as many people in this mob, only around forty, but there were a lot more ninja amongst them, including a black-haired ANBU with a lion-mask.

They had proceeded to beat him nearly senseless, then they dragged him to a distant part of the village where nobody could hear him scream.

Then they started making him scream.

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Anko was getting worried. Naruto had yet to show, and he was never late. The boy had sharp instincts and knew when to make a break for it. But what if he couldn't come? That thought alone was more than enough to to make her look for him.

And on the rear end of the village, she found a man that was stacking wood and pouring oil over it. While stacking wood was not a rare occurrence here in the Leaf, soaking it with oil in an old, abandoned plaza certainly was. And the man kept mumbling to himself.

Anko's heart stopped when she listened to what he said. "The others are having all the fun with the demon, but that doesn't matter. In the end, they'll bring the pieces here and I get to be the one who lights the fire that will finally release Konoha and the world from the damned fox." Realization hit Anko. The man was building a pyre!

Not even two seconds later, the man found himself stuck headfirst in the middle of his own pyre, just as it spontaneously ignited and was ablaze in seconds.

Anko didn't wait until the man started screaming before she ran, now frantically searching.

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Meanwhile, a small girl named Ichiru Wasi was upset. Her parents had told her something important would be going on today, so the festival wouldn't start until dusk. She couldn't understand why, it had always started in the early afternoon. It was probably because they had forgotten. If that was the case, all she had to do was remind everyone that today was not a work-day.

She found some fireworks and set them up the same way she'd seen her father do it. Just as she was about to light them, her mother stepped outside. "Ichiru, where are y... NO DON'T!"

But it was too late. The small rocket shot into the air, before exploding in a mixture of colors with a loud boom. Ichiru looked at her mother, confused by her shout. Nothing had happened, right?

SLAP

Her mother had hit her. Ichiru didn't understand why, but her mother said something about her ruining everything. But what had she done wrong?

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As soon as the better firecracker had come into sight, eight heads had snapped towards it. The exact same thoughts were in the heads of Itachi, Kakashi, Tenzo and Yuugao.

'Firework? Why would someone light a...' Four faces lost all color 'The Kyuubi-festival! Naruto!'

In four different heads,a single thought was found when they saw the recognition in the faces of the ones they were supposed to keep away from the demon-fox.

'Shit!' With that, they jumped in the way of the watchers, who had just begun to dash.

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"Shisui, I have something important to do, so please get out of my way." Itachi said, not quite understanding why his best friend had stopped him.

Shisui shook his head. "Sorry, but I can't. A lot of people would be beyond pissed if you came."

Itachi's thoughts were going a mile a minute, so it only took him a few seconds to understand what was going on. Somebody had arranged another attack on Naruto, and if they had kept him distracted and away from Naruto, they probably had done the same with all others who were supposed to watch him. That meant that Naruto needed him now more than ever.

He became completely calm. It was the same calm that took hold of him in the war or when he was in a mission as an ANBU. All he saw was his objective, namely saving Naruto, and a hindrance to said objective. And hindrances were to be removed. His voice was like ice "Shisui, get out of my way, or I will use lethal force. You have three seconds."

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One could see even through the face-mask how Kakashi's face twisted in a ungodly rage as he understood. "You filthy, traitorous little rat! How dare you?! You have three seconds to get as far away from here as possible. If you're still here by then, I'll kill you!"

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"Come on Tenzo, you wouldn't really attack a comrade for the sake of some demon that killed our great leader, the Yondaime, would you?" Usagi asked.

Tenzo's eyes held no emotion. "You are standing between an ANBU and his objective. I don't think I have to tell you what that means. As for comradeship, you have three seconds to move before I remove you."

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Yacho knew Yuugao well enough to immediately grab her when she tried to get past him. "Oh no you don't. The filthy demon will get what he deserves today, and you understand that we can't let anything stop us from doing the world such a favor."

She looked at her former comrade, disgust and hatred in her eyes as she kicked him in the chest, forcing him to let go. "You swine! How dare you?! He's just an innocent child! Get out of my way in three seconds or I'll turn you into bacon!"

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All four had given the ultimatum at the same time, and their targets reacted in the same way. None of them moved, and all of them used the exact same arguments to talk them out of it.

"You wouldn't really kill me just to save the little hell-spawn."

"Three." Was the only reply.

"You're bluffing! We're comrades!"

"Two." Four pairs of hands started forming hand-signs.

"You can't be serious! After all we've been through together."

"One."

"You're mad! Even if you kill us, you'll never find him! And even if, you can't just kill all who took part in this noble mission!"

"Time's up."

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Shisui's eyes widened.

Itachi had finished and muttered "_Suiton: Kiga no Kiri._" before dashing at Shisui and passing him, so close that their lips almost touched.

Shisui again jumped in Itachi's way, laughing. "I knew you wouldn't do it. You wouldn't hurt your best friend just to save a demo...grgl?" Shisui stopped talking when he noticed that water was flowing out of his mouth. He tried to inhale, but his lungs were completely filled with water. He tried to cough it out, but his lungs refilled faster than he could release the water. He could even see how some of the smaller drops he hurled out stopped falling and flied back into his mouth.

He then saw Itachi dashing away, and despite knowing both what had hit him and how to solve it, he made the wrong decision by going after his friend. Itachi jumped over the river and Shisui tried to do the same. But drowning on dry land had taken a toll on his body, not to mention that the lack of oxygen paired with the fear of death made it impossible to have the precise chakra-control required for water-walking. Instead of landing on the other side like Itachi, he landed right in the middle of the river, submerging.

Itachi's eyes widened. The jutsu he used was designed to drown it's victim by attracting any and all water in the surrounding area to itself in seconds, that usually meant using the humidity. Should someone in Shisui's state land in water, no matter if in a pond, a lake, a river or the ocean, he was doomed. Colder water would continuously flow into the lungs, forcing the mist down even if fire-chakra was gathered in the lungs to force it out. Shisui would drown.

It was a grotesque view. The water of the river flowed into his mouth, then his nose, before finally covering his entire face, blurring his features and veiling his terrified expression.

Itachi felt a tear run down his cheek, then as Shisui's lifeless body sunk to the riverbed, stinging pain emerged in Itachi's eyes, before fading as fast as it had come. Itachi mad a mental note to figure out what was wrong with his eyes, but right now, he had more important things to do.

He turned away from Shisui's watery grave and jumped over the roofs, trying to find Naruto.

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Kakashi's hand was covered in lightning, surpassed only by the malice seen in his eye.

"You had your chance, you wasted it. NOW DIE! _RAIKIRI!_"

Nezumi never had a chance to even make an attempt to dodge. The last thing he saw in his life was a flash of lightning.

The blow had been aimed to the left side of his face, and it tore through the mask as if it was made of paper, obliterating nearly the entire left section of his head, including his nose, left eye, left ear, and roughly two thirds of his upper and lower jaw. Kakashi had intentionally aimed a little to the left so he wouldn't waste time pulling his hand out of Nezumi's skull, and ran forward without sparing the corpse a single glance as it fell and what was left of the brain slid out of the head and landed on the ground.

He didn't stop running when he sliced his finger and summoned his dogs. "Find Naruto!" He ordered.

Pakkun took the time to look at Kakashi, the blood on him and the corpse. "That won't be easy, Konoha is big and the boy has been nearly everywhere."

Kakashi looked at him. "I don't care, FIND HIM!"

Pakkun sighed. "This is bad, isn't it?"

"You have no idea." Kakashi muttered.

Then the dogs were gone, searching for the freshest trail to lead them to the boy.

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Yuugao jumped into the air, before announcing her jutsu "_Katon: Karyuu Endan!_

The flames hit Yacho, who had been too startled to dodge, from a high angle, burning his hands, the lower arms he had extended to form hand-signs of his own, his legs and part of his lower torso, which to Yuugao's extreme satisfaction included the man's 'jewels'.

"How fitting swine, you're bacon. Say hello to Ibiki for me." She mocked, before leaving him laying on the ground to search for Naruto.

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Tenzo looked at his, in his opinion former, comrade as he clasped his hands in the typical hand-sign for Mokuton and spoke "_Mokuton: Jubaku Eisoo._"

Before Usagi had a chance to react, roots broke through the floor and bound her, leaving her unable to move. She considered cutting or burning herself free, but Tenzo seemed to read her mind.

"If I were you, and I thank god that I'm not, I wouldn't try anything funny. This jutsu usually drags it's victim beneath the earth and crushes it there, but I found a way to have that effect delayed. Now it only activates when there is damage done to the roots. And Kamiwari doesn't work in this. The only way to release this jutsu without killing you is either knowing Mokuton, or having a special seal. There are two, one of them is in Hokage-sama's possession."

Usagi looked annoyed. "And the other one?"

For a moment, she thought she saw a smirk appearing on his face when he answered. "Ibiki." She paled. "I have more important things to do, so farewell."

with that, he was gone.

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Scattered within the Leaf, five people were desperately trying to find one blonde boy. Suddenly, all five felt a chill run down their spines, and they did something completely against their training: They started shouting for Naruto, hoping that the boy would answer. They knew it was a race against time, and the clock was ticking fast.

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The self-proclaimed saviors of Konoha looked up from their gruel work as the rocket popped. Naruto was nailed to the wall by a large collection of blades, both arms already removed after all pain receptors had been destroyed by the torture. The crowd saw the fireworks as the village celebrating them, but one of them realized it would also call the hounds on them. Their gaze was locked to the point where the rocket popped, but one of them threw a kunai at the point he knew the boy was. He felt an immense joy when he heard the sound of sharp steel penetrating flesh. What happened next was the last thing anyone had expected.

Killing intent washed over them, so strong that even the civilians felt it as they were forced to their knees. When they managed to turn their heads, they saw the demon standing there, the blades no longer in the body, eyes crimson and slitted. An insane chuckle was heard as the boy looked at them and spoke with a voice that terrified all that heard it.

"_**Finally."**_

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Chapter 2 is done. The chapter became longer than I originally thought (I'm trying to have a usual chapter length somewhere in the 4000nds), and somehow the story didn't get as far as I wanted. But, that just means I have a better idea what to write next chapter. I'll admit that I'm not sure how to end this story yet myself, so if there is something you want to see, I'll try to put it in. but a few warnings beforehand:

I don't write yaoi. I can't, and I don't want to either. I have nothing against people who write or read yaoi, nor do I really mind if someone's gay, but it's simply nothing for me. Also, if one of your suggestions would destroy what concept I have, I won't use it. But I'll try to use ideas given by my readers.

Also, I don't mind having lemons in this story, but for that, I'd need someone else to do them. I couldn't write a lemon to save my life, so if you want them in here, find me someone who can write them (and is willing to do so with characters other than Naruto as well).

_Jutsus_

I'll explain my original jutsus here. I'm too lazy to explain canon-jutsu, unless I alter them, so please google them if you want to know what they do.

_Suiton: Kiga no Kiri_ (Water style: Hunger of the Mist)

Level: A-Rank

Range: Short (0-2m)

Type: Offensive/Assassination

This jutsu was developed by female assassins in the Land of Water. It releases a nearly invisible mist-like haze from the mouth that attracts all water in the vicinity. The mist can travel only travel 2 Meters in the open before it disperses. It was designed to be inhaled, settling down in the lungs where it remains, quickly flooding the lungs, causing what has been labeled as DLD, or Dry-Land-Drowning. The assassins would usually use this jutsu in tandem with seduction-tactics, as it was most effective when kissing, due to the entirety of the haze being inhaled instead of mere parts. In the very humid Land of Water, it would take less than a second for the lungs to be completely filled. The Uchiha-clan studied this jutsu and found a way to counter it. Molding Fire-chakra in ones lunges causes the mist to rise with the warming water so it can be coughed out. The haze cannot be dispelled, but it automatically disperses after two hours.

Naruto will sometimes seem godlike, but he will take some beatings and there will be much stronger opponents, both human and not. So he'll just be really powerful, not invincible.

For now I think I've done enough, so

Please Review


	3. Awakening of the Guardians

Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

"Speaking/SHOUTING"  
'Thinking'  
"_**Summon/bijuu"**_  
"**Hashirama"**  
"_Madara"_  
"Minato"  
"_Jutsu"_

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The villagers, who had been momentarily distracted by the firework, turned around to see that instead of the weak demon brat they had nailed to the tree without arms, what was now in front of them was physically the same, but an aura of dread overcame those who looked at him. They had cut the birthmarks open, so it was impossible to see if they had deepened, but the eyes were now crimson and slitted. Then this creature before them opened his mouth, and a dark laughter escaped before he started to speak.

"_**Finally. After seven long years I can finally move in the physical world again. Such a shame that it's only temporary."**_

One of the villagers mustered all his courage. "You finally show your true self, demon! And what are you talking about, after seven years? You've been taunting us with your cursed smile every day! Tonight you die!"

Naruto, or rather what had possessed him, spoke. _**"Fool. I will not die in the night, but in the light of the sun, the very ashes of the world in my lungs when all else has long since perished. And sadly, your Hokage was a lot better than I would have liked. I am sealed in this boy, and as long as his consciousness dominates his body, I'm unable to do anything, trapped like a rat. Fortunately for me, you fools have tortured him until he had to retreat to the deepest corners of his mind to avoid mentally breaking. Even I would not easily find him now, not that I want to. It's a real shame that you couldn't break him, that would have allowed me permanent control. Couldn't you puny maggots have tried a little harder?"**_

While he spoke those words, red chakra bubbled out of the stumps where his arms had been and formed a good imitation as the rest of his wounds healed in seconds. Slowly, bones started to form while the flesh grew from the shoulders to cover it. It would take a few minutes, but then the arms would be good as new.

Many of the villagers paled at the thought that if what this thing said was true, the boy would have to possess immense mental strength to keep up that long. And now the villagers had gotten their wish. The boy was gone, at least for now. But his absence had unleashed the very beast they had tried to punish and destroy. But as humans have enormous problems with guilt, they simply declared it as the damned fox trying to mess with their minds.

One member of the mob stepped forewords to face the Kyuubi. It was an ANBU wearing a lion-mask. "SILENCE MONSTER! YOU CAN'T DECEIVE US! _Katon: Goukakyu no Jutsu!_"

Kyuubi merely raised a hand of his red chakra as the fireball hit. Shishi (lion) smirked. "Go to hell, fox."

"_**Been there, it was rather boring."**_ Came the reply. Everyone stared as they saw the fireball shrinking in size as it was absorbed into the hand. Kyuubi's eyes filled with something akin to pity. _**"We bijuu are beings of pure chakra, do you honestly believe that sending such pathetic amounts of chakra at us would hurt? All you're doing is pouring a cup of water into an endless ocean."**_

The ANBU removed his mask and revealed black hair and the Sharingan. "I am of the Uchiha-clan, demon. That trick of yours doesn't impress me."

For a second, Shishi thought he heard a low growl at the word Uchiha, but the Kyuubi-Naruto's face was impassive as he tilted his head.

"_**Maybe my next one will be more impressive. For my next trick... I'll make your head disappear." **_Before anyone had a chance to react, Kyuubi was standing in front of Shishi, left chakra hand on his face. The hand seemed to have grown a bit as it covered the man's entire head. Kyuubi pushed forward, and with a sizzling noise, the head evaporated as Kyuubi was already gone, leaning on a tree on the opposite side of where he had started.

One of the Chunin shouted "BROTHER!", but Kyuubi ignored him and merely looked at his arms. The bones had completely formed, but the flesh had only crawled to the middle of his upper arms. A different Ninja jumped at him, kunai in a reverse-grip to slit his throat. Kyuubi raised it's hand and the blade connected with it instead of the unprotected artery.

The man stared in disbelief at the molten stump of metal that was left of the kunai before hissing in pain as some of the slowly hardening metal burned his hand.

They looked at the Kyuubi, expecting amusement or that pity-resembling look, but what they saw terrified them. Kyuubi's face was distorted in ungodly rage. He grabbed the attacker's face, but he didn't evaporate it.

"_**You miserable flesh-bag!"**_ He spoke _**"You dare attack me? You pitiful speck of dust dare raise your hand against me, Kyuubi no Kitsune, the greatest of the Nine? I thought I made it crystal-clear that any mortal attacking me will die, but I'm more than willing to freshen the message!"**_

With that his right hand, which was not holding the man, formed something that could be an unknown hand-sign and a pulse of red energy passed through the arm and into the man's face. Kyuubi released the man who dropped to the floor, screaming in agony.

"What have you done to him?!" A random villager shouted.

Kyuubi smiled. _**"Unlike chakra, a demon's youki can undergo many changes. I won't bore you with details, but when a demon is filled with anger, rage or hatred, it transforms into malice, which is the deadliest form of youki. As you've seen, it can melt steel on touch and when injected into an organism that is not its creator, as I have done, it reacts rather... violently."**_

Violently turned out to be the understatement of the century. The man was squirming on the ground, screaming in agony as his eyes liquified and his teeth fell out, reddish goo seeping out the holes where they had once been. His limbs seemed to stop thrashing as they started to bend in ways they were not supposed to. The entire human shape seemed to melt as his skin bubbled. Kyuubi was apparently so proud of his work that he saw fit to explain.

"_**I've worked very hard to get my malice to do to organisms what I wanted it to. Now that it's perfected, it dissolves his entire body, his bones, muscles, flesh, inner organs and all that stuff. There are five things that will dissolve only after all else is gone. His brain, his heart, his lungs, his pain receptors and his vocal chords."**_

One of the mobsters looked at him, eyes filled with hatred as the malice's victim's muscles liquified, making him unable to squirm, although he could still scream. "I understand brain, heart and lungs stay intact so he lives as long as possible, and the nerve endings remain because you're a not only a filthy demon, but a sadistic bastard. But why the vocal chords?"

Kyuubi's eyes filled with evil glee. _**"Isn't it obvious? So I can hear him scream."**_

As the man finally died, Kyuubi's chakra had finished regenerating both arms. He looked at the mob. _**"Now that the arms are back, I have one question before I rip you all to shreds. If you truly believed that this pathetic vessel was me, why did you attack?"**_

The other Uchiha spat out. "Isn't obvious you monster? You don't deserve to live!"

Kyuubi rolled his eyes. _**"Idiot. I wasn't asking about your obviously non-existing morals, I was asking whatever made you believe that you weaklings would stand a snowball's chance in hell to kill me. In case you've forgotten, I played bowling with your heads seven years ago, and I wasn't even using my tails' powers. If I can cause tsunamis and crumble mountains with but a flick of my tails, what made you think that it would have been beyond my power to annihilate your village? No, had I wanted to, I could have wiped this village from the map before it even appeared on the horizon."**_

It made some villagers think. The demon had a point, it had crushed their best ninja seven years ago as if he was crushing ants. Even if weakened, such a demon would not have accepted their treatment all these years. They had just witnessed what he was capable of, and had the fox been in control, rivers of blood would have been spilled long ago. But the foxes words left one question open.

"If you could have crushed us so easily, why didn't you?"

A grin flashed over Kyuubi-Naruto's face. _**"Two reasons. First, Konoha was not my target, I was merely passing through and only killed those who attacked me. As I've proven, I will painfully destroy those who dare raise their hand against ME."**_

"That's bullshit! My brother attacked you, and you seemed amused, not angered!" The Uchiha shouted.

Kyuubi looked surprised. _**"That was supposed to be an attack? I thought he was giving me his chakra as a sacrifice." **_A collective sweat-drop fell before Kyuubi spoke again. _**"Anyways, the other reason I physically attacked your village instead of blasting it to oblivion or releasing my malice and and watch you die of, let's call it chakra-poisoning, which in hindsight would have been better, is very simple. It was more FUN! Now, how shall I kill you all?"**_

The entire mob tensed, but then something unexpected happened. Kyuubi-Naruto stumbled backwards, clutching his face as if he had received a particularly nasty uppercut. Then he cursed as his free hand was clawing the air as if trying to swat away a horde of wasps. _**"Shit! I had hoped you would take longer to awaken. Things were just getting interesting, and now that the arms are healed, you just want to take over? I don't care that you're the most powerful ninjas this pathetic village had ever had, this is not fair, I was depraved of all joy and freedom for far too long!"**_

But the red slowly faded from Naruto's eyes, replaced by black. _**"Fine, you win. But did you? Before you make a hasty decision, let me show you what these people did to our host. Once we have more time, I'll show you the rest of his life. I'm sure you all will find it most enlightening, especially you, Yondaime. But for now, view his last ten minutes!"**_ A last growl, then the red, slitted pupils had been replaced by normal, black eyes. For a second there was warmth in these eyes, then confusion, then rage. He spoke, but the voice was completely different.

"**This is not what I wanted the Leaf to become when I founded it. I desired peace, not for the villagers to band together in order to torture children. I won't stand by and watch you stain what I and others worked so hard to create. You all are a disgrace to Konoha!"**

The mob wondered what the hell was going on. Suddenly the beast that had wanted to kill them had been forced back, shouting something about Konoha's greatest ninjas and the Yondaime. But the Yondaime couldn't be sealed in Naruto, could he? But who was this person, talking about Konoha as if he was... the... impossible!

But it was possible. _**"None of you will escape here. **__Mokuton: Ganyukirou no Jutsu!__**"**_

And as some of the smarter mobsters feared, a tree grew out of the ground next to the headless Uchiha, its branches quickly wrapping around them all and pulled them close together. And even as they tried to escape, they realized that the branches were too tight to wriggle free and too thick to be broken. But one of the elder members shouted: "Shodaime-sama! How have you become trapped within the demon? And why are you doing this to us, who merely tried to kill it once and for all?"

The black eyes darkened. **"Just like Madara, I was devoured by the Kyuubi. When it was sealed, I, together with him, was released from the beasts inside and became one of the guardians who assure that the Kyuubi remains behind bars. And before your foolish actions, there was no need for us to even awaken, as the Kyuubi had no way of taking control. But your actions have nearly led to the destruction of the Leaf, and that I cannot forgive. But, I'm not your executioner."**

He closed his eyes. Before he opened them again, the Uchiha shouted "Wait a second, I'll burn us out!"

But one of the men knew enough about trees to deduce what they were tangled in. "NO, NO FIRE! This is an Inferno-oak. That type of tree has oil flowing through it like a human's blood-system. One cut, and we're soaked in oil. And it is said that a single spark is enough to set an entire forest of these ablaze. If you use fire, we'll all be cremated!"

A low chuckle escaped Naruto's throat as he opened his eyes, the Sharingan swirling in them. _"That's right. Hashirama developed this technique just to imprison Uchihas. And I can assure you it works perfectly. And what have we here? One of the traitorous Uchiha-clan. I wonder, after you've betrayed me, has your life gotten better? Or was I right and the once-proud Uchihas have been reduced to lap-dogs? Is the next conspiracy already planned, this time against Konoha? I can assure you that it's too late for that now, you should have joined me when you had the chance."_

The Uchiha paled, realizing that he was talking to his ancestor, who had correctly deduced their plans, even though he had no way of knowing what had happened in the last decades, the great... "Madara Uchiha?"

A dark smile flashed over Naruto's face. _"In the Flesh. Well, not exactly, but you get the idea. But, I've wasted enough time chatting." _He walked to the corpse of the man dissolved by Kyuubi's malice, that was really only held together by the skin. He gave it a kick and it shot towards the tree, where it popped like a balloon once it hit the bark, showering those held by the tree in liquified remains.

Madara closed his eyes, and when they opened again, the Eternal Mangekyo had replaced them.

"_Well then young Uchiha,"_ He said _"This is where we say farewell. But don't worry, you're not going alone. All these people will join you on your journey into the void, and the rest of your traitorous clan will follow you soon enough. __Kamui.__"_

And in the center of the tree, space collapsed, sucking everything in the area of effect inside of it. When Madara-Naruto's eyes closed again, the only evidence that anything had ever happened was a crater. But when the eyes opened, they were in Naruto's vibrant sky-blue, but with a seriousness in them that Naruto never had.

He sighed. "This is not what I wanted to happen. I can only hope these were the exception and that the other villagers see him as a hero."

With that, he vanished in a yellow flash, only seconds before an ANBU noticed the crater and called for backup.

Naruto's body suddenly found itself at the bottom of a small lake, a rusted three-pronged kunai on the ground in front of him. 'So that's where it went.' Minato thought to himself as he swam to the surface. He was at the shore of a lake in the forest, close to the village. The river flowing through the village was next to him as it's waters joined with the lake. Minato remembered that this was the same lake that Gamabunta had jumped into to wash him off when he got the summoning-contract for toads. Suddenly his knees buckled and he fell to the ground.

Minato mentally shrugged, he wasn't surprised. The three of them had just squeezed more chakra out of Naruto than most ninja use in their lives till they make Jounin. Now all he and the others could do was try to find Naruto in the depths of his mind while keeping the fox at bay, as he was the only one that could flood the empty chakra-paths and take control, even if only temporarily. He started to search as Naruto's body lost consciousness.

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To her immense relief, Yuugao found Naruto safe and sound, sleeping at the shore of the lake closest to Konoha. The boy must have had a run-in with those foolish villagers, as there were cuts and dried blood on his clothes, but he looked unharmed. Once again, she mentally thanked whatever force was responsible, probably the Yondaime, for arranging that the fox's power healed Naruto faster. Her guess was that he tried to reach Anko, but was blocked by a mob. He somehow managed to escape, and snuck out of the village while he still could. But Yuugao knew that there were a few ninja amongst the mobs and that she may not be enough to take care of them all. She had to make a choice, and she did, hoping that her allies were the faster ones.

"_Katon: Eikoudan no Jutsu!_ " A fireball shot into the sky, where it formed a blazing spiral that lasted ten seconds, eight more than it was supposed to, and vanished. Yuugao took Naruto and moved closer to the water. Potential enemies would have to pass the entire shore, so Yuugao would see them coming, and if someone tried to come over the lake, the splashing would give him away long before he got close.

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When the spiral formed, four heads had snapped towards it, closely followed by their bodies. All four had been praying for some sort of sign of Naruto, and they got it. But the mobs also saw the signal flare and were heading in the same direction. All four knew that whoever fired the flare was on Naruto's side and either expecting a charge and wishing for support... or already under attack. Four pair of feet suddenly kicked into a higher gear that was close to breaking the sound barrier as their owners ran to where they hoped Naruto would be.

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Yuugao was getting worried. She could hear a number of people stampeding through the forest and a second ago, they had broken through the foliage, murder in their eyes. There were at least fifty, and a few ninja amongst them. Nothing she couldn't handle under normal circumstances, but she had to protect Naruto.

To her immense relief, four people appeared besides her and Anko, Kakashi, Itachi and Tenzo were standing beside her, forming a protective circle around the unconscious boy. Kakashi spoke first.

"Go home people, there's nothing to see here. We are ordered to protect Naruto with usage of lethal force should we deem it necessary, and trust me, we deem it necessary if someone gets closer than twelve feet or starts throwing something."

The mob seemed to hesitate. Anko spoke. "I want all you bastards gone in ten seconds, or you're snake-food."

One of the mobsters sneered. "What makes you think you can order us around, snake-bitch."

Anko looked at Tenzo. "Can you keep them stationary for a few seconds? I want to sacrifice them to Manda, and it'd be a pain if they ran away."

That had an instant effect as the mob fled in wild panic. All five guardians waited a few minutes, then they turned to look at Naruto.

Kakashi broke the silence. "He's probably completely exhausted. We should bring him to the hospital, I know a few doctors and nurses like him and actually didn't take the day off in case something like this happened."

The others nodded and carefully hoisted Naruto on Anko's shoulders while the others took a square-formation around her to block possible attacks from all sides as they sprinted towards the hospital.

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Naruto's body reported that it felt the warmth of laying in a bed, surrounded by people that cared about him and weren't trying to kill him. That unconsciously caused Naruto to return out of the depths of his mind, but instead of waking up, he had found himself in a sewer. At first he thought the mob had thrown him here, but then he noticed that this one was unlike any sewer he had seen before, and he knew all sewers of Konoha like the back of his hand, having to hide there from mobs and people pissed by his pranks. He continued walking until he reached a big hall. On the other side, he could see a giant gate with a tag that had the kanji for SEAL on it.

As he walked closer, he could see that to his left, a tree started to grow, only much faster than a tree should grow. When it had reached a size of fifty feet, it stopped growing as a hole opened in the middle of the bark, revealing a hollow space, similar to a cave. In the cave, he could see a shadowy figure in a lotus-position, looking down at him with black eyes. He could only see the silhouette and the eyes. Then red light from above caught his attention.

He looked to see a blood-red moon raising to a full-moon in a way surprisingly similar to an eye opening. When the moon was full, black fire seemed to break out around it and gathered on the bottom as the eye-moon closed. When it was barely more than a fine line, the fire dripped down like a tear, hitting the wet floor with a hissing sound as the water evaporated and the black fire broke out once more, another silhouetted person sitting inside of the fire. He seemed to have something on his back and the eyes were red, with a circle with three rings in it and three bars connecting the ring to the edge of the iris (you know what it looks like). He was sitting in a more relaxed position, one leg one the floor like with the lotus-position, but the other leg was standing on the ground, the knee with the left arm leaning on it pointing to the heavens.

As Naruto still tried to digest what had happened, pale fire seemed to appear everywhere. They were not bigger than the fire of a candle, but they seemed to gather right in the middle, between the black flames and the tree. As they gathered, a third silhouette appeared within them. He was also in a lotus-position and his sky-blue eyes and the shape of his hair seemed familiar to Naruto.

"Who are you?" Naruto asked.

A smirk from all three. The one in the tree spoke first **"We are the Guardians of the Seal. The Shinigami himself put us in this position."**

The one in the black flames chuckled. _"We were once human like you, only much stronger. Due to different circumstances, we all ended up in a particularly obscure sealing, where the Shinigami found us and put us here."_

The third one shrugged. "We woke from our slumber a few minutes ago when you blacked out."

The one in the tree spoke again. **"But perhaps we should introduce ourselves with our real names."** He stepped out of the tree, and Naruto could clearly see him now. "**My name is** Hashirama Senju, but you may know me as the Shodaime Hokage." Naruto's eyes widened.

The one in the black flames stood up and left his burning throne. _"When I was alive, I was known as_ Madara Uchiha, the most powerful Uchiha of all times, and our clan is very old."

Finally, the third one jumped out of the pale fire. "And I am Minato Namikaze, the Yondaime Hokage."

Naruto couldn't keep himself from staring. These almost mythical people were inside of his head. He tried to decide what to ask first. Finally, he made a decision. "You said you guard a seal inside of me, but what is this seal sealing?"

"_**Me."**_ The voice was like a thunder and Naruto looked for the source. He noticed there were things swishing around in the darkness of the cage. It looked like snakes, only much bigger. Then a red glow seemed to slowly illuminate the interior of the cage, revealing the biggest thing Naruto had ever seen. What he thought were snakes were really the tails of a giant fox. It seemed to be bowing (look at the picture showing all nine bijuu. Kyuubi looks like in that picture, only not in a crater), but then he raised his head and released a roar that would make the strongest of men tremble in terror, and it had.

Naruto gulped, then he looked at all four. "You're all showoffs." Four grins answered him as he continued. "I'm guessing that's the Kyuubi no Kitsune, if the nine tails are any indication, but why isn't it dead and how did it get inside of me?"

Kyubi laughed. _**"You're smarter than I thought. Indeed, I am the great Kyuubi no Kitsune. As for why I'm here, we bijuu cannot be killed by any means but a in fight for our title. The Yondaime here did the next best thing and sealed me inside of in infant whose chakra-coils weren't fully developed yet and therefore able to adapt to my youki. The poor fool wished for the child to be seen as a hero, but I don't need to tell you how that worked out. Guess who the lucky infant is."**_

Naruto stared at the Yondaime. "It's your fault? Because of what you did I had to go through all that?! Why me? There must have been other children that were an option, so why me?"

Minato squirmed, but remained silent. Kyuubi smirked. _**"Either you tell him or I do."**_

Minato but his lip, then he gave in. "Naruto, there was a reason. I was the Hokage then, and as such I couldn't demand from others what I wasn't willing to do myself. I couldn't ask another family to give up their child when I... What I'm trying to say is, you're my son."

Naruto froze like a statue. Minato was slowly getting worried, he had expected anything from jumping in joy to yelling at him, but not that he would remain as still as a statue. Then Naruto finally spoke "I see. I guess that makes sense. I won't hold your decision against you, but I'm not sure if I'll ever be able to forgive you... Minato Namikaze." With that, he vanished into the real world where the other four could not follow.

Minato stood there, as unmoving as Naruto had been seconds before. He could not believe how much it hurt to hear ones own son calling him by his full name, showing he was not viewing him as his father.

Madara and Hashirama had decided to remain quiet, as they really couldn't understand what was going on. Kyuubi had less decency. _**"You know, I've been looking forward to this ever since I found out that you were in here. Revenge is so sweet."**_

"Sadist." Minato muttered.

Kyuubi raised a brow. "_**I burn half your village to the ground, kill everyone who stands in my way with my bare hands, liquify a person whose fully aware of what's happening to him, and you realize that NOW? You're pretty dense."**_

Minato sighed. "Can you show me his life?" The other two looked up, interested in that as well. Knowing your landlord was never wrong.

Kyuubi grinned, and something about that smile gave Minato a very bad feeling about what he'd see. _**"I thought you'd never ask."**_

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Chapter 3 is done. How did you like it?

_Jutsu_

Mokuton: Ganyukirou no Jutsu (Wood Style: Oil-bearing Tree Prison Technique)

Rank: A

Range: Short (0-5m), middle (5-10m)

Type: Offensive/Support

This jutsu was developed by the Shodaime to pin down Uchihas, who were proficient with fire-jutsu. It grows an oil-filled tree called Inferno-oak that wraps around all who are close and pulls them close. The tree can then be ignited if needed, or simply ordered to release its captives. Inferno-oaks are known for three things: Their rock-hard bark, the fact that high-quality oil flows through them under pressure comparable to the pressure in a human's wrist-arteries, and their non-existant resistance to fire, great heats and bundled sunlight.

_Katon: Eikoudan no Jutsu_ (Fire Style: Signal Flare Technique)

Rank: D  
Range: Long (10m+)

Type: Support

This jutsu has no offensive or defensive purposes whatsoever. It creates a low-temperature fireball that will fly a certain distance before taking on a specific shape. Usually used as a flare to alert allies, either to an invasive force or as a call for support. Rarely used in latter manner, unless the ninja has the mission-objective and is surrounded or not in a mission and heavily injured.

I gave Madara the _Kamui_ because in this story, because here the Mangekyo will work like this: There are four techniques a Mangekyo can learn. These are _Amaterasu_, the flames of hell (Anyone else notice that when Pein calls the King of Hell, the flames that burn on the ground he's on look just like Amaterasu?), _Tsukiyomi_, the nearly inescapable illusion, _Susanoo_, the summoning of a god, and _Kamui_, the dimensional whirlpool.

An implanted Sharingan (There is a trick to a successful transplantation and transplanted Mangekyos don't go blind) can only learn one technique, a normal Sharingan two, and a true genius three. Should a Mangekyo be transplanted, the new user will be able to use all techniques the original user could. If a Mangekyo is transplanted to another Mangekyo, the new user will have the techniques of both eyes, as well as unlocking two or three, I haven't decided yet, new techniques unique to the Eternal Magekyo. The only one to ever achieve this is Madara Uchiha.

I've already decided on two techniques, but if you want, you can send me ideas for a third one. The technique's name would be nice, but I can try to find one for it as well. If I don't get ideas, I'll just leave it at two, should I get ideas I'll either pick one or let you choose.

And about what my reviewers said about the ANBU: You're right, I was wrong, sorry. i just needed them out of the way, and didn't have any better ideas. Please forgive me.

I've noticed that if you give precise questions once in a while, you usually get the answers you want faster, so I'll ask a few questions, some will be important right away, others later.

1. How do you like the jutsu I made? Are they any good?

2. Does anyone have an idea for a third Eternal Mangekyo-technique?

3. This one is for later: Should Zabuza live or die? I'll send them to wave, frankly because I need Haku.

4. The most important one of all: Should I continue writing this or just end it while I'm behind?

5. Tell me whatever you want to tell me.

Always remember, the more reviews a author get, the better he feels. The better he feels, the faster he writes and the chances of writer's block go down. I'm not forcing any reviews, I'm just politely asking for some.

I wrote enough for today, so now

Please Review


	4. After the Attack

Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

"Speaking/SHOUTING"

'Thinking'

"_**Summon/bijuu"**_

"**Hashirama"**

"_Madara"_

"Minato"

"_Jutsu"_

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Naruto slowly opened his eyes. He was no longer inside of his mind, but out in the real world. He was laying in a hospital bed, surrounded by the six people he'd blindly trust his life to. Now he felt an important part of him, which had still remained hidden in the corners of his mind when he met the Kyuubi and his jailers, finally emerge: His cheerful nature. He spoke.

"Hokage-jiji, Itachi-niisan, Kakashi-niisan, Yuugao-neesan, Tenzo-niisan, Anko-neesan, nice to see you. How have you been? And why are you looking at me like that?"

The Sandaime raised a brow and looked at the four ANBU, who, after exchanging a surprised look with each other, had suddenly developed a fascination with the tips of their shoes. They all had broken an important protocol when they guarded him, namely giving away their identities. Each one had also spent parts of their private time with the sun-kissed boy, inviting him to ramen and such.

But instead of reminding them of the ANBU-protocol and giving out punishment, as the law told him to, the Sandaime merely smiled at them and made a mental note to give them a raise.

Anko chuckled, being the first to regain her speech. "We had to peel you out of your bloody clothes, and you ask how we are doing? That's rich, brat."

Naruto jumped up and down on his bed. "DON'T CALL ME BRAT!" he shouted, much to the amusement of the others. Then the Sandaime, Sarutobi, became serious.

"Naruto, do you remember what happened to you?" He asked, the others looking at Naruto as well.

Naruto frowned in concentration, which made him rather cute in the eyes of the present ladies. Then he shook his head. "Nope. All I remember is running away, hiding Gama-chan, and waking up here."

"Gama-chan?" Anko asked. The Hokage sighed.

"It's his purse, shaped like a frog. I gave it to him as a present." He explained. Anko nodded, it make sense. Hide your cash, or you risk loosing it. Being a pariah of sorts herself, it had happened to her, at least until she started building a reputation as being bloodthirsty to the point of insanity.

But Sarutobi was worried. One of his ANBU had reported that in one of the old plazas, one of the few sections that were deemed too expensive to repair after the Kyuubi-attack and had been abandoned was gone, a giant crater taking its place. But nothing gave any hints on what had caused the crater. There had been no explosion, and no traces of chakra could be detected. It was a mystery.

Had one asked Madara, he could have explained that the _Kamui_ he had used not only sent the tree plus mob and ground to a different dimension, something that was impossible to survive as the shift ripped everything apart molecule by molecule, but also sucked in air and all chakra residue, effectively erasing not only all physical evidence, but also the leftover Youki of the Kyuubi.

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Inside of Naruto's mind, the three great warriors that held the Kyuubi at bay had just finished watching Naruto's life, which was just a focused mass of abuse, neglect and torture, peaking into a single attempt of suicide. To say they were shocked would be an understatement, they were horrified. All three had seen many ugly things on the battlefield, but this took the cake. Madara pulled himself together first.

"I seem to have forgotten, please refresh my memory." He said, sarcasm dripping from his words "Burning Konoha to the ground was bad, why?"

Kyuubi looked up, a slight grin on its face. _**"I second that question."**_

Hashirama and Minato remained silent, before the founder of the village in question spoke. "I am beginning to ask myself the same question. Not even in my worst nightmares would I have expected something like this to occur."

Madara nodded. "When the village was formed, I had asked where all our mutual hatred had gone, consider my question answered."

Minato was still silent, unable to comprehend what could have gone wrong. He had asked for Naruto to be seen as a hero, how had it turned to this? "Kushina always told me I was too trusting, I should have listened to her." he muttered, before turning away from the cage.

"_**What are you doing?"**_ Kyuubi asked.

Minato didn't look up. "I need a drink. A strong one."

Kyuubi snorted, sending small waves trough the water._** "Good luck with that, this is a sewer."**_

Minato shook his head. "Wrong, this is a mindscape." And with that, he held out his hands and a bar rose out of the ground.

Hashirama and Madara looked at each other, then they extended their hands to grab the sake-filled cups that had appeared. With a nod, they gulped it down.

Kyuubi blinked. Could it really be that easy? He focused and tried to make a change he had wished for for the last seven years... and howled in frustration as nothing happened.

Madara smirked. "It looks like being a warden does have some advantages over being a prisoner."

"_**Shut up."**_ Kyuubi growled.

Minato was looking through the bar. "Sake? Not strong enough. Wine? Not much better. What's this? Vodka? Never heard of it." He checked the label. "87% alcohol? Sounds right." With that, he put the bottle to his lips and drank.

Madara raised a brow. "We're technically dead, can we even get drunk?"

Hashirama shrugged. "We're in a mindscape, so I guess we can get drunk _if_ we want to. Though I don't think we can die of alcohol-poisoning, or anything else."

"Beside the kid's untimely passing, which is not as unlikely as it may sound at first." Madara muttered.

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Naruto was sitting on his hospital-bed, sulking. Despite his best efforts, aka nagging, the Hokage had insisted that he'd stay the night. While that may not be such a bad thing, seeing that his apartment was probably in shambles by now, he hated the hospital, not because of the shots or the doctors and nurses, most of them were nice to him. He hated it because he could hear the patients getting visits, he could see parents with their children and sometimes even a few grandfathers through the window. It hurt him inside to see them all getting cared for while he was all alone.

Then he remembered that that wasn't quite true anymore. He had a father, and he could speak to him. In hindsight he wondered what had been wrong with him when he first met his father.

Even though he didn't know it, what had been wrong with him was the fact that most of his personality had still been hidden, and the only parts of him that had emerged into that chamber were his logic and his memories, most of which were rather bitter ones, leading the logic to the conclusion that his father had caused suffering. But now that Naruto's mind was complete, he felt rather bad for his harsh words and wanted to apologize.

That, so much was undisputed amongst those that really knew him, was one of Naruto's great qualities. He was always willing to forgive and he considered every stranger as a potential friend until he'd been proven otherwise. A joke running amongst those that liked him was that you could cut his arm off, and he'd forgive you if you treated him to ramen. Of course, now such a crippling would only be temporary.

But back to our story. Naruto had decided to apologize and was now at a very important question: how? He didn't know how to get back to the place where he had met his father and the other three. He decided to just go to sleep and hope he'd get a idea in his sleep, which would turn out to be the right idea.

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Sarutobi sighed. Apparently a group of villagers had vanished, right about the time that crater had been discovered. What made matters worse was that amongst the missing, there were two Uchihas, one of them in ANBU. That made it Sarutobi's responsibility to find out what happened, but so far, he had no luck. Of course, the Council, at least the civilians, seemed to know exactly what had happened.

"Hokage-sama, you cannot allow that the demon lives after what it has just done! We lost almost fifty citizens and Shinobi, amongst them an ANBU!"

Sarutobi sighed. "Lost is the right word, seeing as there is no trace of them. Also nobody has seen any of them in the last 24 hours, so I have to assume that they have been missing since that time. Do you have any proof, or even witnesses that say Naruto did something to these people?"

Many civilians felt like giving themselves a kick, their tactic had backfired. Many in the population were against Naruto and knew of the mobs that usually gathered to kill him, therefore they always said that they hadn't seen anyone on such days when questioned. Now that same tactic worked against them, giving the little hell-spawn an alibi. And if anyone changed his opinion, he'd be considered a liar, seeing that he'd be giving two conflicting statements.

Fugaku, to everyone's surprise, agreed. "I don't know what happened, but I doubt that Naruto Uzumaki has anything to do with it. He wouldn't have the skill to defeat an ANBU, much less if fifty people backed him up." In reality, he simply saw it as impossible that the demon could defeat an Uchiha even close to the level of the missing ones.

The Hokage nodded. "I shall inform you all if we find a trace of them. But until then, meeting adj..."

But before hecould finish the sentence, a messenger burst through the door, panting. "Hokage-sama, it's terrible! We have just found the body of Shisui Uchiha!"

Fugaku jumped up. "WHAT?!" He jumped up and grabbed the messenger by the throat. "WHERE IS HE?!"

Sarutobi grabbed his shoulder. "Calm down, we can't do anything right now. And please let the messenger go."

Begrudgingly, Fugaku dropped the man. "What is the cause of death?" He asked, forcing himself to be calm.

The messenger coughed, then he spoke. "Apparently, he drowned. We found no traces of violence on the body, but without an autopsy, it's impossible to determine what exactly happened. However, to make an autopsy on the member of a clan, we need the permission of the clan-leader."

"Permission granted. I want to know exactly what happened." Fugaku growled before storming out.

Sarutobi sighed. "Meeting adjourned." he said and left the council-room.

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Minato had just finished his second bottle of Vodka, and you could clearly see it. His face was crimson, and he muttered nonsense in a melancholic voice. The others were looking at him, but they were unsure what to do with him.

Finally, Kyuubi sighed. _**"You are taking this way too seriously. If I know that brat, he'll be here soon to apologize. I have yet to see an occasion where the boy wasn't willing to forgive after a short while. He just needs to cool off, then he'll be jumping in joy about his mighty dad."**_

That had an amazing effect on Minato. His face took its normal color and all signs of drowsiness practically slid off of him. He started glancing around, as if waiting for his son to appear.

Madara raised a brow. "Since when do you cheer people up? I'd have expected you to milk this for all it's worth, especially if what you said is really true."

Kyuubi let out another deep sigh. _**"Normally I would enjoy him looking like a miserable worm, **__**but this case is special. As much as I dislike the fact, he is the one that sealed and therefore **__**defeated me, and look at him! He looks pathetic, which in turn makes me look bad for being sealed by someone like that."**_

Hashirama blinked. "That somehow makes sense. Ah, our host is here." Minato spun around to see where his predecessor was looking.

And indeed, Naruto appeared out of one of the tunnels, looking sheepish as he scratched his head.

He cleared his throat. "Well, it's... well...nice to see you?" He was obviously very nervous, and he kept glancing at Minato, which raised the man's hopes of some kind of bond forming with his son.

Naruto walked towards Minato, eyes still glued to the ground. "I just wanted to say sorry about what I said earlier. I mean, you didn't have much of a choice, and it's not your fault the village is full of meanies. So, can we forget that ever happened?"

Minato chuckled. Then he laughed. "I make your life bad, unintentionally, and you want my forgiveness? It should be the other way around. But let's just call it even, okay?"

Naruto grinned. "Only if you teach me some really cool jutsu!" He shouted.

Minato grinned. "No problem, but to be able to use the cool stuff really well, we have to go through some of the not-so-cool stuff first. It sucks, but I can't change it."

Naruto pouted, but in the end he agreed.

Madara shook his head. While he liked the kid's spunk, it would take much training to turn him into a truly great shinobi. He looked at Hashirama. "Are all children like this?" he asked.

Unlike Madara, Hashirama had married and fathered a child, so he was the more experienced one in this topic. Hashirama shrugged. "Pretty much. It depends on how their raised, but in their nature, they are curious and easily fascinated. But, training him might bring us some advantages as well."

Madara looked at Naruto and sighed. "Not like we have anything better to do." he stated. Nobody could say that Madara Uchiha didn't like a challenge.

For the first time, Naruto really looked around. The site was not that impressive, a dark sewer with water going halfway up to his knees. And the giant barred gate. He looked at the Kyuubi, really looking at him for the first time.

Minato raised a brow at his son's behavior while Madara and Hashirama returned to their Sake. Kyuubi silently watched everything.

Then Naruto grinned. "I like him." He proclaimed.

The reaction was memorable. Minato nearly fell while the other two spit out their drink. "WHAT!?" they shouted, while Minato went for a "WHY?"

Naruto pointed at him. "He's orange." he stated, as if that was all there needed to be said.

"He destroyed half of Konoha!" Minato shouted.

Naruto nodded. "Yeah, but he's orange. And fluffy. And orange."

"Children." Hashirama muttered, speaking the word as if it were the worst swear-word he knew.

Madara glanced at Kyuubi, who he could swear was smirking. And indeed, Kyuubi was of a neon-orange color. It had always been orange, but not this kill-me bright coloring of a life-jacket. Then something clicked in his mind. "If the boy's favorite color had been blue, you would have shown up ocean-colored, am I right?"

Kyuubi's smirk turned into a shit-eating grin. _**"Maybe."**_ he admitted.

The three Guardians decided that right now, there was no point in trying to convince Naruto that Kyuubi was pure evil. Minato remembered that when he was a child, he had also liked and wanted things simply because they were his favorite color.

Then to the adult's amazement, Kyuubi threw all dignity overboard. He whimpered and made large puppy-eyes. _**"Naruto, can you do me a really big favor? Please? Pwetty pwease with sugar on top?"**_ He spoke in a voice that made him seem like a harmless puppy in desperate need of assistance.

Madara had spent the most time with the fox, even though it had not quite been itself, and this was the last thing he expected it to say. It had more pride than the Uchiha- and Hyuuga-clans put together, and here it was, begging in a childish voice.

It was against Naruto's nature to ignore someone in need, especially if it looked so cute. He nodded. "Sure. How can I help?"

Kyuubi suppressed a smile. This was going better than he'd hoped. The boy was going to grant the one wish that had become more and more pressing every day he was stuck here. It wasn't like he was asking to be released right now, but was that one wish really that much to ask for? He looked at Naruto. _**"Can I have your permission to make the inside of this cell look how I want to?"**_

Naruto blinked. That was it? He nodded. "Sure." he said.

As soon as he had finished speaking, vibrations seemed to go through the water. Then it was drained away, revealing that the floor made a drastic dive behind the gates. Apparently Kyuubi had been standing in a pool of water deep enough that he was submerged to the shoulders. It did explain how they saw eye-to-eye most of the time, despite Kyuubi's size. He had apparently been using water-walking when they first met to tower over them.

Kyuubi shook like a dog, sending enormous amounts of water in all directions, before steam started to rise off his body. Kyuubi sighed in relief. _**"Aah. Finally, no water. I'm dry, I'm warm, I'm happy. I owe you one, child."**_

Naruto grinned. "Don't mention it, it was nothing." While he was happy he could help, the others stared. This was Kyuubi's great wish? Then again, Kyuubi had apparently not been dry for seven years, so it was understandable.

Kyuubi stretched and yawned. _**"There's much I can improve in this setting, but that can wait till tomorrow. Right now, I'm tired. Oh, I almost forgot!"**_ he said, and suddenly two pictures appeared on the wall. They showed Madara and Hashirama in a rather embarrassing position, as it captured the moment they had spit out the Sake. Not exactly a dignified stance. Kyuubi grinned. _**"Home, **__**sweet home. Yeah right."**_ he muttered, before laying down to sleep.

Minato scratched his head. "Well that was awkward. Anyways, we'll train you as good as we can, or I will at least, but it won't be easy. You will have to work hard to earn your power. Oh, and I think it's best if nobody but those you trust with your life should know that Kyuubi is not the only thing sealed inside you."

Hashirama decided to add his two cents. "Remember that our identities are to be given out on a need-to-know basis."

Madara spoke up. "Also, remember that nobody needs to know. Things would spiral out of control if people knew just how much power you have. Since we're at the topic of power, I believe that you'll gain both mine and Hashirama's kekkei genkai."

Nakuto blinked. "Cake what?"

Minato sighed. "Kekkei genkai. That means bloodline. They're telling you you will gain the Sharingan and the ability to control wood, which both are impossible to do without their limit. It usually can't be taught, either you're born into the family that has it, or you can't use it."

Kyuubi opened an eye. _**"What are you babbling about? Anyone can control wood, or rather plants."**_ he muttered.

All eyes moved to him. "What do you mean?" Hashirama asked, confused. Nobody but him could use wood or ever had.

Kyuubi opened the other eye. _**"Well, everyone might have been an exaggeration, but everyone with a sufficient affinity for earth and water can do it. The reason why such techniques can't simply be copied is that how much of each chakra you need is unique to each person. Therefore, someone trying to make plant, ice, lava, acid, or any other element-mix by copying what someone else used will fail because the percentage of each element that works for one person is unsuited for others, due to the differences in the individual chakra-concentration."**_

Hashirama looked at Kyuubi. "So basically what you're saying is that my child didn't get the bloodline because there is no bloodline." It did explain a few things Hashirama had never understood, for example why he couldn't get anyone else to successfully control wood, or plants as Kyuubi called it. What worked for him simply wouldn't work for others. Well, it'd probably work for Naruto, as he would essentially be using his ability.

Kyuubi Shook his head. _**"You do have a kekkei genkai, but not like you think. What makes mix-element bloodlines different from normal element-mixes are two things. One, they are much easier to learn, as an instinctive knowledge on how to create the mix is already rooted in your subconsciousness. But the main difference is that bloodlines grant their mix special properties. I'm not talking about making it harder or more resistant than usual, that can, to a certain degree, be accomplished by chakra. Let's take yours for an example. The special property your bloodline grants your plants the ability to seal youki, and normal chakra, but it mainly targets youki, up to the point where you can actually manipulate the flow of youki."**_

Hashirama looked up. "So that's why I could tame the bijuu." he muttered.

Kyuubi nodded. _**"We demons are composed of solidified youki, which is why were immune to **__**time and disease, as there is no real flesh that could rot and die. Since you can manipulate the **__**flow of our youki, you can control our movement and our attacks."**_

Madara nodded. "Perhaps the boy can use that skill. As for the Sharingan, he'll have mine, but I won't let him activate the Mangekyo's jutsu, much less the Eternal Mangekyo's until I deem him ready for it. And that might take a while." he glanced at Naruto. "A long while."

Naruto pouted, but he had enough common sense to realize that all three Guardians, whether directly or indirectly, had agreed to train him, and he had no intention on throwing a tantrum that might change their minds. He looked at Kyuubi. Kyuubi looked back.

"_**What? I hardly know any jutsu, I never had a real need for them. But it seems a lot of old knowledge has been lost, so I'll help out with what I can, as long as you don't bother me."**_ He seemed to think. _**"Since some spoilsports will probably object if I say I give you full support if you let me take control once in a while, let alone free me, that offer won't stand. I also want to know just how much knowledge was lost in the flow of time."**_

Naruto grinned. He'd be unbeatable! Then everybody would accept him.

Kyuubi on the other hand closed its eyes and embraced the first sleep in seven years. He had no idea how Shukaku managed without sleep, it was so enjoyable. Oh well, his loss.

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Itachi bit his lip. So far, things had gone well for him. He had managed to fool his father into believing that Shisui had been doing fine when Itachi had left him behind. He'd forged a suicide-note from Shisui and managed to sneak it into his room. But now the tension within the Uchiha-clan was slowly rising. Itachi knew what would happen if things went on like this with the thrice-damned Uchiha-arrogance, things would get ugly. Right now the only thing that stood between the Uchiha and annihilation was the Sandaime, who, much like him, despised violence. But the man's peaceful attempts to resolve this were slowly but steadily going down the drain.

The Uchiha-clan's plans of a coup were in their infancy, but they were growing fast and if it went on, then Konoha would have to act in a few months.

But right now he was, per his father's wishes, training his little brother. Nothing big, just a bit of taijutsu. But it also gave him the opportunity to plant a few seeds of doubt within Sasuke's mind, which in time would hopefully keep him from becoming one of the arrogant Uchiha that viewed everybody as beneath him.

He blocked one of Sasuke's strikes and made a short jab into the lower ribs the attempted hook had left open and Sasuke crumbled. "Can't you hold back at least a little?" he asked, gasping for air.

Itachi shook his head. "I am holding back Sasuke, you can tell because your ribs aren't broken. But since you seem to need a break, let's take one." He sat down next to his younger brother, who slowly managed to sit up.

Sasuke looked at him. "You're really strong, brother. I can't wait till my Sharingan awakens."

At this, Itachi's face sunk. "Did I use my Sharingan in our spar?"

Sasuke blinked. "Well, no. But..."

Itachi looked him in the eyes. "Then do you think that I'm strong simply because I can activate it?"

Sasuke was confused. His father had told him they were undefeatable because of their Sharingan. The only thing that could defeat an Uchiha was another Uchiha. But now that he thought about it, Itachi had a point. "No, I don't think so."

A small smile graced Itachi's features, but it vanished as quickly as it appeared. "So, why do you think I am so strong? And why are you stronger than the other Uchiha your age?"

All alarms went off in Sasuke's head. The answer his father would expect would be 'Because we are Uchiha heirs.', but something told Sasuke that was not what Itachi wanted to hear. He thought about it, beads of sweat running down his neck. Then, hesitantly, he said "Because we work harder than the others?" He closed his eyes, expecting a slap for saying such blasphemous things about the Uchiha, but all he felt was a pat on the head. When he opened his eyes, he saw Itachi smiling.

"That's right, brother. We train harder, therefore we are stronger. The Sharingan is very useful, but in the end, it's nothing more than a tool that we can use. And the Sharingan doesn't make us invincible. We still take damage from attacks and we are not immune to poisons or diseases. Also, what good is being able to see your enemy if your body isn't fast enough to keep up with him? And the Sharingan has a weakness that few know about. In order to copy something, we must understand what's happening. We can copy normal ninjutsu because we know what the handsigns do, how they shape the chakra. That means that if someone uses some sort of handsign we don't know, or simply doesn't use handsigns, we can't copy them." Itachi explained.

Sasuke listened to his brother, absorbing the information like a sponge. "What handsigns don't we know? And what jutsu don't use handsigns?"

Itachi's smile widened, this was going better than he had hoped. Sasuke was apparently not completely corrupted by the Uchiha-doctrines, so there was still hope for him. He was willing to improve with hard work, and he wanted knowledge to cover weaknesses most Uchiha denied they had. Now Itachi would give that knowledge.

"There are some handsigns that pop up every now and then that we can't copy, like the Yamanaka-techniques. Then there are some things that demand chakra-control beyond what a normal handsign is supposed to do, like the Nara's shadow techniques. As for techniques without handsigns, it you train them enough, you'll eventually be able to use almost any jutsu without handsigns, but there are some that don't need any to begin with, like the Yondaime's _Rasengan_, or the art of puppetry. That one is particularly nasty, since you can't tell what their puppets are going to do unless you know puppetry and can analyze the movements of their hands." Itachi explained, Sasuke trying to memorize every word.

"So, how do you beat a puppeteer?" Sasuke asked.

Itachi's mood was rising faster than he'd ever thought possible. "The easiest way is to attack the puppeteer himself. Most puppet-users are physically below the average ninja of their rank, as their puppets do their fighting. But the puppeteers know that too, which is why they are very good in hiding themselves. Also, when you find one, simply rushing in may not be the best choice. Always expect traps or second puppets. There are also some traps that can be hidden underneath clothing, like senbon-launchers. My tactic is to place a chakra-strengthened or explosive kunai into the back of their heads from a safe distance." He spoke, before looking at the sun. "Well, it think you had enough rest, so let's continue our spar."

Sasuke groaned as he stood up. He was willing to swear he saw a sadistic smile light Itachi's face as they got into their fighting stances. He knew this wouldn't be pleasant.

For the rest of the afternoon, Itachi mopped the floor with him.

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After Naruto woke up, he threw a tantrum until the stressed-out doctors signed his release-papers, just to get some peace. Then he wondered where and how his training would be. Suddenly he heard Madara's voice in his head.

_'It will be unpleasant and you'll probably wish you were dead on occasion. And one thing I forgot to mention about the Sharingan you'll get, don't use it when others could see it. That will lead to a few questions you really don't want to answer.'_ Madara said.

Then Hashirama spoke._**'**_**As for where you will train, I believe it's best we choose a spot a good distance away from the village, so that we don't raise suspicion due to chakra bursts that might alert ANBU.'**

Naruto saw the logic in that statement, and immediately went through the places he knew to see which one was best. He decided on a clearing roughly twenty miles from the village. He knew of it because he wandered through the forests often, in search for food or simply a safe place. This clearing was far away from any roads or outposts, and there was a spring flowing though it, supplying water for any water-jutsu and the fruit trees. One could spent a large amount of time there during summer without having to worry about running out of essentials.

Naruto decided that he'd head there tomorrow. For now he thought about who he could trust with the information that he knew about the Kyuubi, and who he wanted to know that it wasn't alone in there. Madara had been quite clear that nobody should know exactly who was inside of him.

Hokage-jiji would be on that list, of course. Hashirama and Minato seemed to agree.

**'So little Sarutobi has become a Hokage? The times change so fast. I believe he's trustworthy.'** Hashirama chuckled.

Minato also laughed. 'I never thought he'd take the job again, he seemed happy with his retirement. I agree with the Shodaime, we can trust him.'

Naruto felt better hearing that the others seemed to like Hokage-jiji as well. But who else? Itachi-niisan, Anko-neesan, Kakashi-niichan, Yuugao-neesan and Tenzo-niisan were people Naruto really liked, so he thought they would keep it a secret.

The Guardians went through his memories to find out who he was talking about, and when they found out, they agreed.

Madara seemed intrigued by Itachi. _'Well well, who would've thought? There is a decent Uchiha left after all. And if his brother is anything like him, that makes two people. Maybe the Uchiha won't have to go completely extinct after all. But I think you can trust these people.'_

Naruto grinned. But before he went to the Hokage, he decided to make a stop at Ichiraku's, having already retrieved Gama-chan. When he stopped in front of the restaurant, he could hear his father sniff.

'Naruto, I'm so proud of you. All on you own, you have found the little piece of heaven kami left on earth.' he said, mentally adding It seems he's well-liked here. I knew I could count on old man Ichiraku to treat him fairly. He never judged anyone based on anything but his own opinion of them.

Naruto grinned, happy that his father seemed to love ramen just as much as he did. Like father, like son as they say. He entered paradise and stayed for an hour, much to the joy of Ichiraku and his daughter and to the dismay of Gama-chan's body-mass before heading to the tower.

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AND CUT! Chapter 4 is in the bag, thank you. A little longer than I'd planned, but who cares? I have a feeling I'll eventually have usual chapter-lengths in the 5000s anyway.

Lets see, I have 12 votes for 'Continue the story!', plus a few 'Update soon!' and 0 'Stop writing!'. I'd say I'm doing okay so far, no mayor screw-ups that ruin everything yet. So, I'll keep writing till my readers tell me they can't take it anymore.

The next chapter might take a while, I have a lot of stuff I have to do at home, but please be patient with me.

And since I mentioned voting, currently Zabuza's chances of survival are not bad.

As you noticed, I'm doing a delicate and difficult operation, removing the pole out of Sasuke's ass. So, he won't be an asshole in this fic. I know that many don't like him, I myself enjoy fics that bash him, as long as they're good, and the Shippuuden-Sasuke is just overkill, but the one in the first Naruto-installment wasn't that bad. So yes, he'll be a good guy, and a good friend of Naruto. Sakura will be like canon at first, but she'll improve. She might get a _**little**_ bashed until she shapes up, but then she'll be a valuable teammate. This is not up for debate.

A few people mentioned pairings, and my answer hasn't changed: I haven't decided yet, although I am starting to lean towards harem. Anyways, tell me if you want a particular pairing and I'll take it into consideration. As of now, I can only say that it definitely won't be NaruSaku, or yaoi. So send me your ideas, and I'll see what I can do.

One more thing: Naruto will eventually appear god-like, and he will be. But its necessary, because he will eventually face enemies that are as well. And it takes one to beat one.

I have the habit of replying to my reviewers, so I'll do the same here, if possible.

To RogueNya: My Naruto is quite forgiving, and honestly, I need them to get along in order to give Naruto three, or rather four trainers of the highest caliber, which he'll eventually desperately need.

To DmDarts: Sorry, not happening. I need them all, and I have other plans for the guardians and the prisoner. Also, they are just too different to fuse.

To Kuronueslover: I update when I can, sometimes multiple times a week, sometimes once every two months. It really depends on how much time I can get for my writing. Also, I have other, older stories that I can't just abandon either. So I can't really give you a specific time on how often, sorry.

To macabre-wolf: Muchas gracias, pero no hablo español.

To GodricGryff: It was nice to see a review from you, considering that I read your stories too. I hope your stories are making good progress. I like your ideas, especially the 'Naruto: Master Necromancer. Unfortunately, I don't have the time right now to start another story, but I might bring some elements into my story later on. Again, good luck with your writing.

I think that's it for now, so if you want to do me a favor, and motivate me to write more and faster, there's an easy way to do it:

Please Review


	5. Training and the Uchiha Massacre

Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

"Speaking/SHOUTING"

'Thinking'

"_**Summon/bijuu"**_

"**Hashirama"**

"_Madara"_

"Minato"

"_Jutsu"_

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Now that his stomach was satisfied, Naruto headed to the Hokage-tower. As soon as he entered, he met the first hurdle in form of the secretary.

"The Hokage is busy, come again later." She stated coldly.

"When will he have time?" Naruto asked. He was pretty sure she was one of those that hated him, but maybe jiji really was busy.

She glared at him. "That's none of your business, now go before I call the ANBU on you."

Naruto frowned, but before he could say anything, the Hokage's head poked through the door. "I thought I heard... Ah Naruto, good to see you, come in."

Naruto blinked. "I thought you were busy."

Sarutobi blinked. "How did you get that idea? For once I'm having a breather in my duties." Then his gaze fell on the secretary, who suddenly seemed very busy, and all became clear. Well, she was not taking her work seriously, so Sarutobi had been looking for a reason to part ways with her anyway. He waved Naruto in and signaled him to take a seat.

"Now, what can I do for you?" He asked.

Naruto fidgeted a bit, which caught the Hokage's attention. Naruto never fidgeted, he always spoke what he thought, consequences be damned. This seemed big. Then he cleared his throat. "Um, jiji, I'm not sure how to start this, but, you know I've been attacked, right?"

Sarutobi nodded, slowly getting worried. "Yes Naruto, I know, and I don't condone any of it."

Naruto smiled. "I know jiji, but that's not what I wanted to say. You see..." Here Madara interrupted him mentally.

_'Hold that thought. Before you continue speaking, ask the Hokage to send the ANBU out and soundproof the room.'_ He ordered. Naruto didn't notice any ANBU, but they weren't the best for nothing.

"Jiji, can you soundproof this room and maybe send the ANBU out for a minute?" he asked.

Sarutobi blinked. "How do you know there are ANBU here?" he asked.

Naruto sweat-dropped, but then he had an epiphany. "You're the Hokage, you are always guarded, right?"

Sarutobi smiled. "That's right Naruto, I'm impressed you figured it out." He gestured and three ANBU appeared, bowed and left the room. Once the door closed, Sarutobi laid a finger on a seal on his desk and the room glowed for a moment. "Nobody can hear what we say now Naruto, so you can tell me what you want."

Naruto nodded. "Okay. Well, when I was beaten, I lost consciousness, and I ended up in my mind." Sarutobi tensed, but Naruto continued. "I found a giant cage, and in the cage there was the Kyuubi."

Sarutobi became dead serious. "Naruto, please understand. The Yondaime had no choice but to..."

Naruto raised a hand. "I know, and I've already forgiven my father."

Sarutobi dropped his pipe. "You know the Yondaime is your father?" He asked, completely shocked.

Naruto nodded. "Yeah, but that's not all I wanted to tell you. Kyuubi isn't the only thing sealed inside of me."

Sarutobi dropped into his seat, this was all too much. "That can't be true Naruto, Minato sealed nothing but the Kyuubi within you. It has to be a trick so that you trust one of the aliases and release it."

_**'Don't I wish.'**_ Kyuubi muttered.

Naruto shook his head. "No jiji, the Shinigami sealed three humans in me to guard the seal. And they agreed to train me, isn't that great? And Kyuubi said he wanted to know how much old knowledge was lost or something like that, so he'll help once in a while, though it sounds more like giving advice." he said happily.

Sarutobi blinked. He felt the urge to take a strong drink to calm his nerves. He took a deep breath. "Who is guarding the seal?"

Naruto looked apologetic. "They were clear that I shouldn't mention their names, but I can guarantee that they're really strong, and that they won't make me desert, burn down Konoha or anything like that."

_'I wouldn't bet on that that one.'_ Madara dryly stated.

Naruto ignored him. "So I might vanish for a while to train, but no reason to worry." He gave Sarutobi a heartwarming smile and the old man couldn't help but calm down.

"I see. But still, I don't think it's a good idea to leave you without supervision." he reasoned.

Naruto nodded. "You can tell Itachi-niisan, Tenzo-niisan, Kakashi-niisan, Yuugao-neesan and Anko-neesan about me knowing about Kyuubi and the three guardians, but they said they'd only train me away from curious eyes."

Sarutobi nodded. This only proved that the guardians were ninja, as they didn't want outsiders to know of their art. "Can you at least give me a basic area where to search for you?"

Naruto frowned. Then he pointed in a direction. "Between ten and fifty miles that way."

Sarutobi nodded and smiled. "Thank you for the trust, I'm guessing that's all for now?"

Naruto nodded. "Bye jiji." he called and left.

Sarutobi leaned back in his chair. This had been a startling revelation that he still hadn't completely digested. But he had a sneaking suspicion that he knew who one of the guardians was. "It seems the gods were not as cruel as I thought, as they did allow you to watch your son grow up. Though I doubt this was what you wanted to see, Minato."

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Naruto had decided to start his training as soon as possible, aka the same day. After a five-hour-hike through the forest, he reached the large clearing he had chosen as his private training field.

Hashirama chuckled. **'Well this is nostalgic, I myself left this clearing as a spot where I trained with my brother. The fruit trees were a very nice touch, if I do say so myself.'** He stated to Naruto's immense surprise.

Then a wide grin took over Naruto's face. "So I'll be training at the same place where both the first and the second Hokage trained? Cool! So, how do we begin?"

Madara sighed. _'First of all you have to improve your physical condition. You're already pretty fast, but you need more strength and stamina. Also, I intend to teach you a martial-arts-style, but you're way too stiff, seeing as the _Yurugu Genzou (Wavering Phantom)_ relies on flexibility, and can be made even more effective with hidden weaponry. Building up on that style is a sword-style called _Tsuku Kamaitachi (Haunting Kamaitachi)_, my own preferred sword-style.'_ he explained.

'What's so great about those?' Naruto mentally asked.

Madara explained. _'Both have a distinctive quality: They're impossible to predict. They rely on moving in a way that your opponent doesn't know what to expect. One of the strongest styles of combat is the _Drunken Fist_, even though its masters usually don't get too old. What makes that style so dangerous is it's unpredictability, following no pattern whatsoever, therefor it cannot be analyzed. The martial art I'll teach you is derived from that very same style, only that one moves with a bit more dignity. Once you learn how to use a sword, that won't change, seeing that many of the _Tsuku Kamaitachi's_ stances don't appear like you're ready for combat. You might be leaning on your sword or having it resting on your shoulder moments before you strike. But as I said, you're not flexible enough for that yet.'_

Naruto's eyes were burning with determination, mentally already picturing his new kick-ass self, when Hashirama decided to speak as well.

**'Having fought Madara many times, I know one weakness his styles hold, the sword-style in particular. Since you are using unpredictable attacks that often come from unusual angles or are staged out of uncommon and sometimes impractical positions, resulting in a decrease in stopping power, you can't put much power behind your strikes. While you will fight extremely well with Madara's styles, they're not designed to end battles quickly, it's more like fighting a war of attrition. I will teach you a style that may counter that weakness, and perhaps you'll ****even manage to combine our styles. My style has the fitting name **Juggernaut**. It works by circulating your body's energy, called Chi, through your body, giving you superhuman strength with minimal strain to your body. Also, since your Chi won't leave your body, there is no substantial decrease in your overall energy and none to your chakra. I will teach you that once you're at least adept in handling a sword, for sheer hand-to-hand combat, Madara's style is effective enough.****'**

Naruto was jumping with joy. This was incredible, and it was just his taijutsu-training! Both Hashirama and Madara had, as far as Naruto knew, mainly relied on ninjutsu, so how great would that be? And his father was one of if not the best seal-master ever. While seals seemed boring at first, Naruto knew that he could do great things with them if he mastered them. "How do we start?" he asked.

'With the basics. They just said you weren't fit enough, so we'll start with that. Run fifty laps around this clearing, then you stretch for ten minutes to help your flexibility. Afterwords, you'll do fifty pushups and fifty situps. Then we'll start with basic chakra manipulation, followed by a bit of mental exercises. We'll steadily up both your physical and mental exercises until you reach a point where your taijutsu-lessons can begin. Same with your chakra-control, once that reaches an acceptable, we start your ninjutsu-lessons.' Minato answered.

Naruto pouted, but after a second, he started running. No sacrifice, no victory.

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It took almost two weeks, but Naruto finally reached the necessary stamina, strength and flexibility to learn Madara's style. Naruto nearly popped limbs many times while trying to get the moves down, his efforts graced by moderate success.

His chakra-training was going a bit better. He had managed to make a leaf float and to his own amazement, he was able to walk up trees as well. He had learned the three basic academy-jutsu from his father, but for some reason, the _Bunshin_ always eluded his grasp. Kyuubi explained that because of the five different wavelengths of his chakra, his control was below average. In return, his reserves were humongous, and interestingly it was denser and more potent. This meant that he needed less chakra to perform a technique, and that his chakra-paths would continue to widen because of the pressure, increasing his reserve. Once the reserve had adjusted to the larger paths, it would widen them again, turning the growth of his chakra into an endless cycle. These factors resulted in the situation that even the smallest amount of chakra Naruto was able to produce already overloaded the _Bunshin_-jutsu.

To solve this problem, Minato discussed a few ideas with the other guardians and in the end they decided that the _Kage Bunshin_ was the perfect solution. Not only would it be more effective than the illusionary clones, the added effect of the clones giving their knowledge and experience would be a great help in Naruto's training. Of course it didn't help with his physical training, so they decided that Naruto's clones would train chakra-control, seals and whatever else they could while Naruto himself trained his body to improve his taijutsu. They would also teach him a clone-technique that could take more than one hit so that he could get used to fighting, and specifically fighting multiple enemies while being aware of one's surroundings.

Naruto was more than happy to learn these jutsu and shove the reading to his clones, it was boring. The only lesson he feared was the resistance-training with Madara. All his beatings had already given him a high tolerance for pain, so Madara focused on steeling Naruto's mind.

Unknown to most, Madara and his brother had been very curious and studied certain things until they reached a mastery unheard of. One of the things Madara had mastered was Killing Intent, which he used on Naruto to harden him. He only used a fraction of what he was able to do, but it never failed to bring Naruto to his knees. Madara mentioned that he would also teach Naruto to use KI, not just the basic pressure but also the version that gave images of a brutal death and Madara's personal favorite, using KI in a way that made him imperceptible to enemies without them even noticing anything was wrong.

On the days he didn't have to train he spent time with jiji and his other nii- and neesans. Anko introduced him to her boss, a bear of a man named Ibiki, but he seemed okay to Naruto and they quickly got along. Spending time with Tenzo was always a little awkward, but Naruto was used to the man's quirks. But Itachi was worrying him.

While Itachi seemed in a good mood when he told Naruto about his younger brother and how he was wiping the floor... I mean training him and that his parents had made Itachi his guardian, there seemed to be something that was on his mind, depressing him. But whenever Naruto tried to ask Itachi, he would just give him a smile and change the topic. That behavior was not soothing Naruto's worries in the least, and Madara started to notice something fishy as well.

Many weeks would pass before they received an answer to their questions.

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Naruto was enjoying the end of one of his free days, wandering around looking at the sky turning crimson with the setting sun. Since he hadn't been paying attention to where he was going, it was no surprise he found himself somewhere he had no memory of entering. It was a training ground, a pretty basic one too. There were the wooden logs that some ninja used to improve the strength of their hits, but not much else. Except Itachi.

The Uchiha was sitting on a recently fallen tree, Naruto guessed he had felled it himself, face buried in his hands. Naruto cleared his throat. "Are you alright Itachi?"

Itachi looked up, but relaxed when he saw the blond mop of hair and the telltale whisker-marks. He smiled weakly. "Naruto, good to see you. Take a seat."

Naruto did as asked and for a while they sat in silence, until Itachi seemed to strengthen his resolve. "Naruto, do me a favor."

Said boy looked at him. "What kind of favor?" he asked.

Itachi looked at him. "Nothing complicated, just a simple favor. Tomorrow evening, stay away from the Uchiha-compound."

"Why?" Naruto asked.

Itachi looked sad. "I fear something bad might happen, something that I can't stop, and I don't want you caught in the crossfire."

Naruto looked shocked. "Shouldn't you tell the Hokage then?" he asked.

A sad smile flashed on Itachi's face. "He already knows, but there's not much anyone can do."

Naruto didn't really understand, but Madara did. Something was going to happen, and it would likely be bloody. Naruto's thoughts were more focused on helping Itachi. "And I really can't do anything to help?"

Itachi was about to shake his head, when an idea hit him. "Naruto, there might be something you can do for me."

Naruto straightened up. "How can I help?" he asked in a serious voice that coming from a seven-year-old would be hilarious if the situation weren't so grim.

Itachi smiled. "You remember my younger brother Sasuke?" he asked.

Naruto frowned in concentration, then he nodded. "I saw him once or twice, and you always talk about him. He seems okay, what about him?"

Itachi looked him in the eyes. "Should I for whatever reason no longer be able to take care of him, could you keep an eye on Sasuke? You know, be his friend, train with him, make sure he doesn't go insane or starts to take all the junk the bloodline-lovers spout seriously."

Naruto nodded eagerly. If he couldn't help Itachi any other way, he'd at least try to look over his family.

Itachi gave his first real smile of the evening. "I knew I could count on you." With that, he ruffled through Naruto's hair, knowing the boy didn't like that very much, though he would allow it as a gesture of care. Then he was gone. Naruto looked at the spot Itachi had formerly occupied. That had been weird. Really weird.

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The next day he headed to his usual training site. He had to admit he was proud of himself, considering he now only needed little more than an hour to reach it. He created his usual hundred _Kage Bunshin_ and prepared for his usual routine, when, to his immense surprise, Madara interrupted him.

_'Naruto, take it easy and save your strength today. And we're going back to the village early today.'_ He said.

Naruto was confused. 'Why?' He mentally asked.

_'The words of that Itachi made me curious. I want to know what will happen at that clan tonight. Who knows, perhaps my wish will be granted.'_ Madara explained.

'What wish?' Naruto asked.

_'I'll tell you another time.'_ Madara said.

Naruto shrugged. If Madara didn't want to talk about something, he didn't, simple as that.

**'What is going on in your head?'** Hashirama asked Madara, who simply smirked in return.

_'Wouldn't you like to know?'_

'Yes we would.' Minato interrupted 'What I want to know why you're making this risky plan. If you read between the lines of Itachi's words, it's possible hell will break loose there. I don't want Naruto to die there.' He clarified.

_'Calm down, I have no interest in a meeting with the Shinigami either, so I'll make sure Naruto won't die. I'll take over should the need arise, and any lighter wound the fox can heal, whatever it's doing right now.'_ Madara calmed them down.

Ever since Naruto had given Kyuubi permission to make his cell look however it wanted, a dark curtain had blocked the sight into the cage, Kyuubi only occasionally sticking its head out to give a comment. The guardians didn't care too much, the Kyuubi's one protest of their training ideas was enough for them not to ask for a repeat performance.

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_Flashback_

The Guardians were discussing certain issues about Naruto's training, slowly coming to an agreement when Madara mentioned a point they hadn't discussed yet.

"I believe it's for the best we tell Naruto to stop playing pranks, it's immature and won't help him gather skills." He had hardly finished when all three were thrown off their feet, both by the shaking ground and a hurricane-like gust of wind. It took them a second to understand what had happened: Kyuubi had thrown itself against the gate and was now clawing at them. Not that it had any point, as the gate was too narrow to get the claws even close to the guardians.

"What's the big idea?" Minato cursed, rubbing a bump on his head.

Kyuubi's answer was the last thing they had expected. _**"Not the pranks. Take a paw, take a leg, take a tail, not the pranks!"**_ It WHINED!

Hashirama blinked. "Why are the pranks so important to you?" He asked.

Kyuubi huffed. _**"They're the only entertainment I have in here. Also, I'm a Kitsune, and we love a good prank. Don't take the pranks away. Think of it as stealth training, getting in and out without being noticed, just don't take the pranks away!"**_ It suggested in desperation.

The guardians looked at each other, they hadn't really thought of it like that, but now that Kyuubi mentioned it, it sounded like a good idea. They nodded and the Kyuubi retreated back into its new and improved cage to do who knows what.

_End of Flashback_

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The Kyuubi had been adamant, and Naruto had continued playing pranks on people. The Kyuubi thanked him by correcting the Guardians when they explained hand-signs, giving them knowledge lost for eternities.

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'Naruto, come into your mind, we want to teach you the hand-signs, and they're easier to learn if you can see our hands.' Minato said.

Naruto obeyed and stood before his father. They smiled at each other and exchanged a short hug before Hashirama cleared his throat.

Naruto gave Hashirama his undivided attention. "Naruto, these are the basic seals." He showed them to Naruto, who tried to memorize them. Hashirama nodded. "Good. Now that you know all twelve hand-signs, you have to learn to make them instantl..."

Kyuubi's head broke through the curtain. _**"All twelve? What on earth are you talking about?"**_

Madara blinked. "You did say you knew all hand-signs. Shouldn't you know then? Dog-Tiger-Dragon-Boar..."

Kyuubi's face lightened. _**"Oh, you're talking about the Eastern-Zodiac-set. You're right of course, that set consists of twelve signs, just like the Western-Zodiac-set. The former is best for basic elemental manipulation while the latter is works better for non-elemental techniques, although both sets can be used for both purposes. They should be learned before one starts advanced hand-signs, which are complex enough to be a sign-language by itself."**_

Everyone stared at Kyuubi. _**"What?"**_ It asked.

Minato gulped. "Ninja today only use twelve hand-signs. If what you say is true, then everything else was lost in history."

Kyuubi's face held limitless shock. _**"You're kidding me." **_Three heads shook. Kyuubi shook its head. _**"You can' be serious! How can you only know twelve signs when he" **_Kyuubi pointed at Hashirama _**"uses an advanced sign in nearly all his jutsu!"**_

Hashirama blinked. "Who, me?"

"_**Yes you! The final sign in your Mokuton-jutsus!"**_ Kyuubi hissed.

Hashirama put his hands together in a praying fashion, the sign used to end all Mokuton-jutsu. "This? This is no hand-sign, it's just something I do because I noticed it helps me focus and makes controlling trees and plant-life easier."

Kyuubi face-palmed, an action that created winds strong enough to blow the bangs out of Minato's face. _**"It's unbelievable, he uses an advanced hand-sign half his life, and he doesn't even know it. I wonder if it came with the kekkei genkai-instincts. Of course it's easier to control plants like that, it's the Forest-sign for crying out loud! Okay, you guys teach him the Eastern-Zodiac, I'll handle the rest. Un-fucking-believable."**_ The last part came out as a mutter while Kyuubi retreated back into his now-hidden cage.

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Madara shrugged off the memories and turned to Hashirama and Minato, intending to have a private discussion without yet about Naruto.

"He has made shocking progress, even before he began to use the _Kage Bunshin_ to master jutsu and chakra exercises. He has a wide arsenal of E- to C-ranked jutsu, and I'm considering starting with elemental training. What are your opinions on the matter?" He asked.

Hashirama scratched his chin. "He certainly is talented, and he works very hard to learn, which I believe is a major part of his achievements. He seems proficient in his taijutsu, even if he is still far away from mastering it. I would agree that learning elemental manipulation sooner may give him an edge." He stated.

Minato smiled. "I was thinking of bringing the topic up myself a little later, but I agree with you. He's ready to learn it, but we should keep an eye on him, he's still a bit immature."

Madara nodded. "I also considered starting his sword-training. While training will be easy, finding a blade that can last in real combat is not. There are only two blades of sufficient quality in Konoha, and they're both hidden under the Uchiha-clan, not that they know it. But any blade will last for a few missions before breaking. I'm bringing up something else that I deem important, the boy's first kill. It doesn't have to be now or even soon, but it should happen before he becomes a genin."

Hashirama nodded, sharing Madara's opinion. Naruto hesitating to finish off an opponent could be a fatal mistake. He didn't have to become a murder-lover, but the experience could save his life. Minato understood that as well, but it didn't mean he had to like it. He begrudgingly nodded.

Madara acknowledged the support, when he noticed that the sun had started to set. He contacted Naruto.

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_'Naruto, we should head back. And make a stop at the Uchiha-compound, if possible, I'd like to pick up something I left there. If you don't mind, I'll take over should it be necessary.'_

Naruto shrugged. But before he left, he turned to a hollow tree and grabbed into a opening. Minato was shocked at what he pulled out. It was an ANBU-mask, and it wasn't just any mask either. It was the Kitsune-mask.

'W-where did you get that?' He stammered.

Naruto blinked in confusion. What was wrong? "I found it in the trash behind that big building without doors. What's wrong?"

Minato knew he was talking about ANBU-headquarters, the only building built without doors for security reasons to keep non-ninja out. After the Kyuubi's attack, it made sense that nobody wanted that particular mask, but still. He was pissed.

'Naruto, ANBU masks are imbedded with a number of seals to give the wearer a certain edge, but that one is special. It's one of the few I made and equipped with seals personally, so it's far superior to normal ANBU-masks.' He explained.

Naruto looked at the mask with new respect. He had found it at the end of the worst months in his life, when he dug through an unguarded trashcan desperate for food. He hadn't found any, but the mask had given him back hope and the wish to be Hokage, things he had nearly lost in his desperate situation. Shortly after he had found Ichiraku's, a small ramen-shop that didn't send him away, but instead nurtured him back to health. That first bowl of ramen had been the most delicious thing he had ever eaten. A few days later he had managed to sneak into jiji's office and the Hokage had been shocked about his situation. He got his own apartment the very same day.

A question popped up in Naruto's head. 'You said you made a few ones, which ones?'

Minato thought for a second. 'Let's see, there was the Tora-mask, a classic. Then the Inu- and Neko-masks, there was a Hebi-mask, but nobody used it after Orochimaru defected. The Kitsune-mask of course, but I have a feeling I'm forgetting one. Ah, now I remember, the Itachi(weasel)-mask. That was all of them.' He counted them on his fingers, making sure he had them all.

Naruto grinned, almost all of those belonged to people he liked, and Anko would probably take the last one someday.

'So what's so special about them?' Naruto asked.

Minato smiled. 'Simple. Amongst it's other benefits, the moment you put it on, only you can remove it. Also, as soon as it's on your face, it changes your entire outfit to what you want it to look like, though that function must be consciously activated.'

Naruto put on the mask and a second later, he was wearing something that looked like the Hokage's outfit, only in bright orange. "COOL!" Naruto shouted.

Madara face-palmed. _'Maybe, but it ruins the impression that you're an ANBU. For that, you'd need something different.' _He sent Naruto a mental image of what he had in mind and moments later, Naruto complied and his outfit changed again.

Now he was wearing a long black jacket with a hood and sleeves so long that his hands, which were now fitted in black gloves, barely poked out of them. Looking down he saw long black pants whose endings were wrapped to his legs with gray bandages that vanished in his black boots. Since the hood was raised, there was not a single inch of skin nor a single hair visible.

Madara nodded, satisfied with the result. With this, they could go to the Uchiha without being too obvious. He was interested in what would happen tonight.

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Itachi swallowed as the last man fell. He had done it. The Uchiha clan was finished. Almost. The driving force behind the coup was still alive: his parents. Fugaku was the leader, but unfortunately for her and Itachi, his mother was supporting her husband with all her heart. A man doesn't do something like this without the support, or at least agreement of his wife. It hurt Itachi to do it, but Sasuke would be an orphan once this was over.

He bit his lip as he turned to his home and prayed to whatever gods were listening that Sasuke wouldn't come home anytime soon. Sadly, his prayers weren't answered.

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Naruto reached the compound and immediately noticed a irregularity. Where were the guards? There were always two guards at the entrance of the compound to keep unwanted people, like him, out. But now there was nothing, nobody was in sight. He stepped through the gates, still expecting somebody to stop him, but again nothing happened. He looked around... and understood why the guards hadn't stopped him.

They were laying behind the walls close to the gate, their throats slit, a look of shock forever etched onto their faces. Now that he looked around, there were more corpses. What they all had in common was that their expressions were not ones of pain, but ranging from surprise to horror. They had died swiftly and almost painlessly. Still, Naruto felt bile rise up and fought to suppress it. To his own amazement, he succeeded.

Madara spoke up. _'Impressive. Add some fire and I'd say that I landed in one of my daydreams.'_

'You were dreaming of this?' Naruto mentally hissed. It was disgusting, and Madara dreamed about it?!

_'You don't understand what the Uchiha-clan has become. Before Konoha was founded, our clan trusted in their own virtues. The times were brutal, and death was a constant companion in our journeys. The Senju-clan was our greatest foe in our battles, the one clan that was our equal. __Hashirama was considered the greatest of the Senju, while I was considered the greatest of the Uchiha. We were bound to cross blades on the battlefield, and we did many times. Don't misunderstand, there was no man I respected as much as him, and I know the feeling is mutual. But one day, everything changed.'_ Madara spoke, lost in memories.

'What happened?' Naruto asked.

**'I came to the Uchiha and asked them to make an alliance with us. Not only with the Senju-clan, but with other clans and Hi no Kuni itself. We'd protect it against the other countries, ****and in return we got a place in which we could make our own rules. I was tired of the permanent fighting and dying, and I was not the only one. That was Konoha's birth.'** Hashirama explained, also mentally far away.

Now this was history Naruto could pay attention to. 'What happened?'

Madara sighed. _'The Uchiha were also tired of the fighting and pressured me as clan-leader to agree. I was the only one who was against the idea.'_

'Why? It sounds great.' Naruto stated.

_'It sounds great, but it couldn't last. Of course I'll admit that I had personal reasons not to like the Senju and their allies, one of them killed and desecrated my brother, but there was another reason I didn't want to agree to Hashirama's plan. However, in the end, the rest of the clan forced my hand.'_ Madara said.

**'What was that reason? I always wondered why you disliked the idea so much.'** Hashirama spoke, interested.

_'Both the Uchiha and the Senju were great clans. Both were superior to all they're allies, we were the strongest and we knew that. However, our clans were equal in strength. Such a delicate balance cannot hold very long. To quote a saying, two tigers cannot live in one jungle. There is no way two dominant clans will tolerate not being the top dog forever. Either a war would erupt, or one side would gradually become servants to the other. And the election for the first Hokage was showing which side would be the masters. To the Uchiha, it seemed like they were merely acknowledging Hashirama's achievements, but it was the beginning of the end. I tried to reason with my clan, but I was merely called a warmonger. I left Konoha to gather knowledge and strength, to complete a few things, to prepare for the battle that would come, and to observe the Uchiha to see if perhaps I had been too paranoid. But my fears were accurate, the Uchiha were slowly turning into servants for the Senju and other clans, the fire that once burned in their hearts diminishing. In such cases, it's better to burn the existing system and it's keepers down and start from scratch.'_ Madara explained.

In a weird way, it made sense. 'So now what?' Naruto asked.

_'Now we look around if there's anyone left. Although I'd like to take control of your body in case the one who caused this is still here. You're not bad, but you don't have the necessary bite, yet.'_ Madara stated. Naruto nodded and temporary relinquished control of his body to Madara. It was a weird feeling, moving without wanting to move, but Naruto shrugged it off as he watched his body kick into action.

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Itachi had just finished off his father. It was almost sad how little resistance the leader of a coup to overthrow the village offered, even if the drug that Itachi had put into the clan's supply of drinking water slightly dulled his senses and chakra-control. After all, the effects were fairly weak to make sure that nobody noticed before it was too late. He looked at his mother, who seemed calm.

"Why are you doing this Itachi?" She asked.

"Your plan will drag this village into a civil war and even if the Uchiha win, the other villages, seeing that Konoha now consists of but a single, still combat-weakened clan, will descent on us and the entire Hi no Kuni like locusts. Your plans would cause so much bloodshed, cost so many lives. I can't let that happen."

Mikoto looked at him, her eyes showing no fear. "I see. What about Sasuke?"

"He will live. He will probably be the last Sharingan-wielder in Konoha." Itachi stated.

His mother nodded. "Do what you must."

A single tear ran down Itachi's eye as he ended her life. Unlike his father she looked peaceful, as if she was merely sleeping.

Itachi took a step back. It was done. Now he just had to get away before...

"KA-SAN! TOU-SAN!" Itachi winced. Why now of all times? He wiped the tear away as he slowly stepped into the moonlight, knowing Sasuke had already noticed him. After the weeks of training, Sasuke could somehow sensed his presence.

Sasuke looked at him wide-eyed. "Nii-san, they are..."

Itachi put on a emotionless mask. "I know Sasuke."

Sasuke looked at him. "Outside, they're all..."

Itachi nodded. "Dead. I killed them."

…

It took a few seconds before Sasuke understood his brother's words. "What?" He gasped.

"I killed them." Itachi repeated "I annihilated the Uchiha-clan."

Tears ran freely down Sasuke's cheeks. "Why?" he whispered.

Now Itachi was in a bind. The truth was not an option, so he had to improvise. "It was... to test my potential." He finally answered. That actually sounded plausible, Sasuke knew Itachi had never gone all out in a long time. Itachi silently congratulated himself for the good excuse. For a second he had been worried his excuse might be of a Kakashi-Hatake-quality, in other words, as easy to see through as polished glass.

Sasuke bought it. "Just for that? You killed them all just for that? RAAAGH!!" With a cry of rage, he threw himself at Itachi. But the former ANBU-captain remained calm, plucked his brother out of the air and threw him though the thin sliding doors onto the street. What he would do next was the last thing he wanted to do, but it would looks suspicious if Sasuke got away with a few scrapes while all others died, by his brother's hand no less. So he steeled his resolve and left the house in a burst of speed.

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Sasuke groaned as he fought to stand. Attacking Itachi head-on had not been one of his best ideas. He had sparred with him often enough to know he was no match for his brother, but his anger had blinded him. Ironically, to loose control of one's emotions was the first thing Itachi had told him never to do. Itachi! Where was he? He knew that fighting him was suicide, so he did the only smart thing: He retreated.

He had not run long when he heard Itachi's voice. "You're running away? I expected more. But it's time I ended this." The voice seemed to come from everywhere at the same time!

Sasuke looked around frantically, trying to locate his brother before he attacked. Finally he remembered another thing Itachi had told him: People rarely look up. He raised his head and saw Itachi crouching on a pole like a cat. He saw his Sharingan, then he heard Itachi mutter "Mangekyo Sharingan." and watched in fascinated horror as his brothers eyes seemed to mutate as the three tomoe merged into a single shape. Then everything went black. The last thing he heard was Itachi's voice stating "_Tsukiyomi._"

…

…

…

"_I think that's far enough."_ Only when this new voice spoke did Sasuke realize the darkness had come because someone had put his hand over his eyes. He shoved it off and saw that the one who had stepped in was about his size, dressed completely in black and was wearing a ANBU-mask that showed a fox.

Itachi tensed, he had never seen this guy before. His size indicated that he was in Sasuke's age, but the voice didn't match. Was it a genjutsu he couldn't see through? If so, it would have to be a powerful one. Who was he? A Ne-soldier? No, they had a special symbol on their masks. A secret ANBU, some sort of last-resort-weapon? Maybe. There was a simple way that might answer his questions. "Who are you?"

A low chuckle came through the mask. _"Who indeed?" _the unknown figure muttered, loud enough for everyone to hear.

It was worth a try. Itachi regained his calm and looked at him. "This is a clan matter. You should leave, while you still can."

The figure chuckled. _"Clan matter, huh. Tell you what pup, using that on a decent Uchiha is a big no-no." _With that, he opened his eyes, a fully evolved Sharingan spinning in them.

Itachi's eyes widened. He didn't know of any other Uchiha in ANBU besides him and the missing Shishi. He also noticed that this newcomer had called him pup, which indicated that he saw himself as superior to Itachi, and a good bit older. Itachi knew he had some time and decided to start relaxed before he'd send him to hell. "Well this is a surprise. Shouldn't you be wearing an Uchiha-insignia somewhere? Shishi actually carved it into his mask."

The figure tilted it's head. _'Shishi? Ah, him. May his soul burn in hell. As for the insignia, will this suffice?'_ He raised his left hand and the fan of the Uchiha suddenly appeared on the glove. Itachi's eyes narrowed.

'What are you doing?' Minato asked him.

_'Don't worry, now he thinks my appearance is a high-level genjutsu and won't think that this is our real height.'_ Madara explained.

And he was right. Itachi had concluded that whoever was before him was using some advanced genjutsu on him, most likely to mock him for being beaten by someone Sasuke's size. He also concluded that Shishi was dead, and from the sound of it this guy had something to do with it. Whoever he was, this man was obviously dangerous. Itachi sent Killing Intent his way that left Sasuke, who was still standing beside the figure, gasping for air. The man just shook his head.

"_You have much to learn."_ The man said. _"This is how you use Killing Intent."_

In an instant, a incredibly strong wave had washed over the clan-compound, and Sasuke was hugging the floor before he realized it, his entire body refusing to function under these conditions. Itachi was shook. This was intense. But his opponent wasn't done. _"And this is how you focus it."_

Suddenly the pressure on Sasuke vanished and he could bring himself up to a crouched position again. Itachi on the other hand suddenly had extreme difficulty breathing. This was insane! This guy's mere presence was so powerful it wasn't funny. Itachi knew from the man's behavior that he knew that he was superior to Itachi, and after feeling this KI, Itachi wasn't sure if he wasn't right. He needed to end this, fast. His eyes changed back into the Mangekyo.

The figure snorted. _"Are you sure? You've barely tapped into its potential, and have next to no experience, unlike me."_ With that, his eyes formed the Eternal Mangekyo, not that Itachi could recognize it.

Itachi was shocked. This man had the Mangekyo as well! Itachi knew that he was a beginner with the Mangekyo and if this guy spoke the truth, he was an expert or at least proficient with its usage. While he may be able to win if he pulled it off right and somehow surprised him, the chances were not high and Itachi thought it'd be better if the Hokage knew of this. He made the same decision Sasuke had made: He would retreat, so that he lived to fight another day. He looked at his brother and decided to throw him a bone as he told him the location of the Uchiha's most secret location that was used as a meeting ground, library, and many other things. The figure didn't seem to mind. Itachi gave his last goodbyes.

"Perhaps the next time we meet you'll have the strength to kill me. For that, you need hatred, so never forget what happened here. As for you," he looked at the figure "we'll meet again." Then he was gone.

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Madara watched Itachi leave, gave Naruto some final instructions like don't use your real voice and relinquished the control back to him.

Naruto knew Sasuke was behind him and decided to put on a small show. He sighed in relief. "Thank heaven he bought it." He said.

Sasuke slowly got back on his feet. "What do you mean?" He asked.

Naruto turned his head to him, the Eternal Mangekyo fading from his eyes, though Madara let him use the normal Sharingan to not give away his eye-color. "I have just finished training myself before I came here. I'm low on chakra and physically exhausted. He could have killed us with some effort on his part. Fortunately, he bought my bluff. Remember, sometimes all you have to do is seem superior to your enemy to make him retreat. And why the long face?"

Sasuke bit his lip. "The entire clan is dead! As an Uchiha, shouldn't you feel just as bad?"

Naruto shrugged. He decided to use half-truths. "I've long since cut ties with this clan. They had become arrogant and lazy, choosing to completely rely on their Sharingan and the skill of others. The Sharingan is a wonderful tool, but you should never become dependent on it."

Training with Itachi, Sasuke couldn't really disagree, but there was a deeper reason for Sasuke's sadness. "He killed them all, even our parents... just to test his abilities."

"Bullshit." Naruto stated.

Sasuke looked up. "What?"

"I said bullshit. He obviously saw me as a dangerous opponent, yet instead of fighting me, he chose to flee, indicating he was confident that he'd be able to shake me. If he really wanted to test his abilities, why didn't he fight me and retreat if things turned grim? There's something else going on here, and I'd really like to know what."

Sasuke was shocked. This guy was right, if Itachi wanted to see where his limits were, why did he flee when faced with what could be a real challenge? It indeed seemed fishy.

Naruto looked at him. "A final piece of advice. There is a very fine line between using your emotions and being used by your emotions. Being angry is fine, but you can't let yourself be devoured by anger. If you do, you'll eventually push everyone away from you, and I can assure you that there is no hell worse than loneliness. And even if you kill the evil, if you are consumed by rage, you will only take its place. Revenge leaves you hollow once it's accomplished, and few can truly live again like that."

"_Wise words."_ Madara stated _"But now we should leave. The ANBU are almost here. We can pick up what I wanted to get another time."_

Naruto nodded, then he snapped towards the direction the ANBU had to come from. "Time for me to go."

With that, he was gone. A few seconds later, a group of ANBU appeared. One of them spoke into his headset. "We have a survivor, I repeat, we have a survivor. Send a medic ASAP."

Sasuke leaned on a wall as more people swarmed into the graveyard that was the Uchiha-compound, observing the darkness that slowly crawled from the edges of his vision. He was placed on a stretcher when the darkness overtook him and he fell into blissful unconsciousness. His last thought went to his unknown savior. Who was he?

________________________________________________________________________________

Chapter 5 is done. Longer than usual, but I wanted to get the Uchiha-massacre done. Not my usual chapter length, just an exception. And it didn't take as long as I thought it would, hooray for me.

The whole build-up takes longer than I thought, I'll probably spend some more time building up before I finally reach the Genin-arc.

Again, my de-asshole-ing of Sasuke is steadily proceeding, seeing that I managed to remove what I believe to be two of the major reasons Sasuke was so emo: Being hit with the _Tsukiyomi_, and firmly believing Itachi did all just to test his power.

About Mikoto: Sorry to those who liked her, especially Monsay, but I have to agree with the author Pryotra here, I don't see how she could not be involved in the coup. As the wife of the leader, she would be a pillar of support for him, as you just don't pull something like that off without the support of loved ones. Also, when Fugaku told Itachi to be a spy for the clan, Mikoto was sitting beside him, and she looked serious, not upset. And neutrally speaking: The Mikoto who disagreed with her clan's ways is something that was created on this very site, as we don't have any information on how she acted towards non-Uchiha. Also, she was the wife of the clan-head, for crying out loud! Do you really think the man would choose a woman who disagreed with everything he thought about the clan? Don't get me wrong, I enjoy reading fics where she's good and lives as much as the next guy, but Mr. common sense just tells me that it won't work with me, and the man is a pain to ignore, since he can shut off my inspiration. Again, sorry that she died, but it just wouldn't work otherwise.

About the styles I gave, or will give, Naruto:

First of all, the Chi-manipulation that the Juggernaut-style uses is a vital part, but not the entire secret behind Tsunade's strength. I'll go into more detail when I reach that point.

And concerning the name I gave the sword-style. Kamaitachi has two meanings. It's a mythical creature, looking like a weasel holding a sickle, like what Temari can summon. Also, a cut caused by wind is also called Kamanitachi, in reference to the creature mentioned before. In the case of the sword-style, I mean the second meaning, the wind-cut.

And regarding demons: In this fic, there are a multitude of demonic creatures.

Demons are animal-like creatures with a number of tails from 0 to 9. There are many demons, but only nine bijuu, one for every number of tails starting at one. The Reibi will not be a bijuu, if I decide to use it at all. However, demons can become bijuu by challenging bijuu for their title, which is the only way a bijuu can die. The winner will gain of keep the title of bijuu. Being a bijuu comes with certain advantages. While demons may be sealed without human sacrifice, even the nine-tailed ones, and die if their host dies, a bijuu, no matter what rank, cannot be sealed without the sacrifice of a human life and if their hosts die, they are unsealed and free to roam the lands again. Kyuubi and Shukaku are the only two original bijuu that never lost their titles. I know that the shark, the badger, the wolf and the weasel never existed, but in my opinion, they are the first bijuu, brought to life in many magnificent stories on this site (Nine Broken Mirrors, need I say more?). So, they existed and may exist in this fic.

Devils are humanoid, intelligent and usually sadistic and ridiculously powerful. Vampires, Werewolves and other humanoid creatures are devils, some lesser, some higher.

Fiends are the last type of demonic creature. They come in many shapes, ranging from the classical horned, hoofed creature to monsters of all shapes. Their strength and intelligence varies greatly, depending on the subspecies and in some cases, the individual.

Finally, there will be a Juubi in my fic. It's not the canon one, it doesn't have the same history, though a similar and plot-relevant one, and it's definitely not free.

Akatsuki will exist in this fic, they will be gathering demons, not just bijuu, the organization will have bad intentions but they won't be the main antagonists, at least not all of them. In fact, I have plans for a number of members to redeem themselves, mainly because I think they're awesome and shouldn't have died.

There will be a Tobi, but for obvious reasons, it won't be Madara. He will have an important role later on, but I won't ruin the surprise.

As you've probably noticed by now, I really focus on details. I can't help it, it's just the way I am. If something happens, I ask why. If something is special, I try to give a reason. The whole, it's just that way, deal with it doesn't sit right with me. I will do it if I see no other way, or, more likely, if the reason is something that I don't want to reveal now, but I usually have a reason for why I do things in a certain way. I'll admit, sometimes it's a sucky reason, but it's still a reason. Another thing I like to do is come up with stuff that has rarely or never been used. Of course, I still use canon for support and to get my thoughts in order, but I like adding some twist to things.

And I use OC's, I just do. For those of you who say that OC's run the story, I can say that you're not wrong, that can happen. However, I don't see why blowing up characters that have hardly any screen-time is that different from making an OC. Let's take Yugito for an example. In canon, she appeared for maybe ten minutes tops, and all she did was fight for her life, and lose. We know nothing about how she grew up or her personality, but she's used on a regular basis. What authors who do that, I intend to put myself on that list as well, essentially do is creating an OC with a canon-name.

Also, I might bring some elements from other manga, anime or other sources, but I'll change them to fit into the Naruto-verse and tell you. But not much, since this is not a crossover. And I won't use zanpaku-to, since they tend to drag everything into the Bleach-verse, which is not what I want.

To justbin: I wasn't planning to have Naruto shout at the top of his lungs that there are three Guardians inside of him, its a secret he only tells the people he absolutely trusts. As for the canon parts, I plan at alter some stuff, and generally try to keep it short, but I really can't make any promises. And yes, there is some mental damage, but he hides it well. Naruto has keen instincts on who wants to hurt him, and keeps the hell away from those who do, but anyone who doesn't seem like he'll attack him, Naruto classifies as friendly until he is proven wrong. And he is willing to forgive, if he feels that the person has changed and is worthy of redemption. As for a reason why he doesn't graduate sooner, the only one I have right now is because he wants to be in a team with his best and only friend his age. Seeing that he yearns for recognition and human contact, something his Guardians can only partially supply him with, I find it plausible. Hope that's enough. And I hope I won't disappoint you and manage to bring out at least most of the potential.

To demonicNaruto: I'm not sure why I'm writing this, since you'll probably never read it, but I'm doing it anyways. I noticed your review was from chapter 1 when there were 4 chapters, and from what I read, I have to ask: Did you even read the chapter or just looked at the summary before spouting off insults? Should I be wrong, please do tell me what's wrong with my writing? Please try to be specific, or else you'll be a no-good flamer whose too cowardly to even use your account.

To GreatGoogilyMoogily: I'm not sure if I'll have no pairing, but I can assure you it won't be NaruAnko/NaruKure/NaruTsu. Anko knew him since he was five, not a good thing to remember when kissing (Sorry Starwarsninja, but they'll be great friends), Tsunade is way too old and I'm considering sticking her to Jiraya, whether for a real pairing or just to have her beat the snot outta him I'm not sure. And Kurenai? Not really, maybe I'll give her to Asuma, maybe she won't be paired, but not to Naruto. As for Shizune, I already have something planned for her.

To RogueNya: I already decided that Madara would have a Fire-affinity, like every Uchiha. You probably saw the Doton-sign on his Narutopedia-page, but in my opinion, they had no idea about his affinities and just gave him that because he was able to bury Deidara's mines, but let's be honest. Deidara knew that jutsu, and with all the time Madara/Tobi spent with him, copying it wouldn't be very difficult. And Pein, together with Tobi, is still the driving force in Akatsuki, and the hardest enemies to beat. But, they won't be the strongest foes in my story, I do have some plans.

To Liger01: I think I answered your question with this chapter. Yes, he hates the Uchiha, but he sees some hope for them in Sasuke and Itachi, who are not stuck-up, arrogant assholes.

To one-village-idiot: Akatsuki will exist, but telling you why now would ruin the surprise and spoil a few chapters, I hope you understand.

To deadw8: Naruto won't leave the village before he becomes a genin, at least not beyond the clearing where he trains. If he did that, I'd have some trouble since I'd have to find more people he'd meet, explain why Sarutobi would let him go alone, and it would plainly get in the way of some things I have planned. Sorry, but that is final.

To Advin-A: Naruto will be powerful and skilled, scratch that, he'll be ridiculously powerful and skilled, but he won't be invincible. Canon-enemies will be able to beat him simply because they have loads of something that Naruto simply doesn't: Experience. So Naruto will taste defeat, despite his strength. I hope that's enough to keep the story from taking a plunge into sucks.

I think I said enough for now, I don't want my AN to be longer than my chapter.

Please Review


	6. Making Friends

Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

"Speaking/SHOUTING"

'Thinking'

"_**Summon/bijuu"**_

"**Hashirama"**

"_Madara"_

"Minato"

"_Jutsu"_

* * *

Naruto yawned. The last night had been taxing, to say the least. Even though he hadn't been the one staring Itachi down, his body still remembered the experience. His father and the others had told him that it was okay to skip training today and relax.

The question was, how? He had gone to Ichiraku's, the one place he'd always love more than anything else, and listened to the citizens exchange rumors about what happened at the Uchiha-compound. While he knew more than all of them put together, something told Naruto it was best if nobody knew that.

But now he was bored. Because of the commotion, everyone rank Chunin and above were on duty, meaning that he couldn't visit any of his friends. Jiji also was busy with the whole mess, so Naruto really had nothing to do. He wondered why Itachi-niisan had killed his clan, but that was yet another question he wouldn't get answered in the near future. It was so frustrating to want so many things and get none of them! But sulking never helped, so Naruto returned to the question of how to spend his time. Well, his water-walking could still use some work, as he could stand and walk, but still sank in if he tried to run, so why not work on that? With that decision made, he decided to save himself the walk to his usual grounds and just use the nearest available source.

* * *

Sasuke sighed. He had been released from the hospital earlier today, and he was downright furious with the behavior of the villagers. They either started whispering when they saw him while giving him looks of pity, or babbling something about his strength to be the lone survivor and of the responsibility now resting on his shoulders. Sasuke was sick of it already.

And he wasn't the only Uchiha left, just the only one with a chance to awaken the Sharingan. Itachi had spared a few of the people that had been declared unable to both activate the Sharingan and produce offspring that could. But only a few were left, one old man, a seven-year old and a young woman that led a small Uchiha-orphanage together with the chilrden in said orphanage, but in reality the place had been where parents that produced 'worthless' offspring dumped them. The young woman, being just like the children she cared for, had been known for her dislike for the Uchiha-leadership, and her undying love for the children under her care. On the night of the massacre, she had told the children to hide in the cellar, hid the entrance and blocked the entrance of the orphanage with her body. Itachi had knocked her unconscious, but apparently decided to otherwise ignore her and the children. Yet he was hailed as the sole survivor, because he was Konoha's last chance to keep the Sharingan. Sasuke spat out and directed his thoughts to less infuriating topics.

The Hokage had told him that tomorrow, Sasuke would be questioned on what happened, so he should rest for today. Sasuke was looking forward to seeing the fox-masked ANBU again and properly thank him for his rescue.

As he walked towards the place he had called home for so long, he realized that he didn't really want to return there, nor could he. The 'cleanup' wasn't done yet, and Sasuke didn't want to see the dead again. The Hokage had told him to rest in an inn until the Uchiha-compound was... suitable for living again. So he turned around and headed in a different direction when he noticed a blonde boy sitting on a pier, staring into the water, then raising his head to look at him.

At first they exchanged glares, and were both ready to turn their heads away, then, strangely, they both smiled at each other.

For Sasuke, it was refreshing to see someone giving him neither pity nor absurd praise, but just treat him normally.

For Naruto, it was the feeling of feeling someone who felt the same loneliness that he did.

Sasuke approached and sat down next to Naruto. For what seemed like an eternity, neither spoke a word. Then Naruto spoke. "I'm Naruto Uzumaki."

"Sasuke Uchiha." Sasuke replied.

Naruto nodded. No condolences, no prodding, just that nod. "Say, do you want to be a ninja when you're older?" He asked.

Sasuke nodded. "Of course."

Naruto grinned. "Me too. Do you want to train together sometime? But I warn you, I train hard."

Sasuke remembered his training with Itachi, and smiled, despite the sting in his heart. "Hard I can handle. Next Tuesday? We'll meet here."

Naruto nodded. "I have a place I like to train, but it's a distance away from Konoha. Do you know a good place to train?"

Sasuke nodded. "There is one... in my compound." his voice trailed off.

Naruto gave him a short, comradely pat on the shoulder, before slowly getting up. "I heard what happened." He snorted. "It's impossible not to in this village. But as much as it hurt, what happened, happened. You can't change the past, but you can change the present to form the future. Well, I'll see you Tuesday." With that, he walked away.

Sasuke stared after the boy, Naruto. For some reason, Sasuke felt better. He knew a bit about that boy, though the different sources painted very different pictures.

His father had described Naruto as a beast, as a being with no pride or honor that used the kindness of "the old fool", commonly known as the Hokage, to escape his deserved fate.

His mother had described him as a troublemaker, and had warned Sasuke not to get close to the boy.

Itachi had described him as a lonely child, who had few friends and an iron will. His brother had also told Sasuke that Naruto was actually a nice kid once you got to know him, that he had something that made even slightly open-minded people immediately like him, and that was fiercely loyal to his friends. Itachi had also mentioned that Naruto was carrying a heavy burden for the sake of the ungrateful village, but refused to go into detail.

Now that Sasuke had met Naruto, he was inclined to believe that Itachi had been closest to the truth. For some reason, he was really looking forward to next Tuesday.

* * *

Naruto also smiled. He had finally made a friend that was his own age, something he had been wanting to do for a long time. And Madara seemingly agreed with his choice.

"_A Uchiha that has not rotten is a good choice for a friend. Before Konoha existed, we were known to never abandon a comrade. Sadly that changed, but I still hold hope for the Uchiha, now that the taint has been purged. With some help and a little push in the right direction, he could do great things."_ He stated.

Naruto nodded, not really getting what Madara was saying, but thinking that it basically meant Sasuke had talent.

Minato was also happy that his son finally found a friend, even though he thought it amusing that he'd choose Fugaku's child as his friend. When Minato was young, Fugaku Uchiha had been his number one pain-in-the-ass. The man had, to quote Kushina, "two ten-foot poles stuck up his ass, one of them sideways". Still, Sasuke seemed to be an okay-guy, and parents and their children weren't always identical.

"I agree with Madara. The boy has talent, and he could be a valuable comrade." He said, making up his mind.

Naruto nodded eagerly. He could hardly wait until Tuesday.

* * *

Sarutobi sighed deeply, feeling a massive headache coming. Itachi had reported that a Sharingan-wielding ANBU in a fox-mask that seemed to possess frightening power had shown up, saving his brother from a potentially traumatizing jutsu. Itachi had thought it may be one of the Hokage's Black-Ops, seeing that the man hadn't even attempted to follow Itachi. And now Sasuke had described the same person, a ANBU in a fox-mask, and asked Sarutobi to deliver his thanks. Sarutobi gave Sasuke a serious look.

"Sasuke, listen to me. You say that a ANBU wearing the kitsune-mask saved you, right?"

Sasuke nodded, not seeing the problem. "Yes, he drove Itachi off with a killing-intent like you wouldn't believe. What's the problem? I mean yes, ANBU's identities are supposed to be a secret, but can't you at least deliver him my gratitude?"

Sarutobi shook his head. "I can't. You see, the problem is, there is no ANBU wearing the kitsune-mask."

Sasuke's eyes widened in shock. "What?!"

Sarutobi nodded. "There hasn't been a single Kitsune in the ANBU for over seven years. You see Sasuke, the previous owner of the mask retired, and before a successor to that title could be chosen, the Kyuubi attacked. You can imagine that nobody wanted to wear the mask after that. I gathered some information. ANBU-masks are designed with certain seals, though you can never tell who made these seals, for safety-reasons. Now, apparently the maker of the kitsune-mask went a little over the top and made it practically indestructible, so the people at headquarters eventually just threw it away. You see, anyone could have that mask right now."

Sasuke nodded. "He said he had long since cut ties with the clan because he thought they were becoming too arrogant."

That was news to Sarutobi. Apparently, the enigma had made conversation with Sasuke after driving off Itachi. "What exactly did he say? Sasuke, this is important! Maybe we can determine the alliance of this ninja."

Sasuke blinked. "You think he's an enemy of Konoha?"

Sarutobi shrugged. "I'm not sure, but if you're the Hokage, you have to take every possibility into account."

Sasuke nodded and told the Hokage all he could remember.

When he was done, the Hokage sat down nodding, lost in thoughts. "I see. From what you told me, I'd say he had some disdain for the clan, but I don't think he betrayed the village. Usually, those that do somehow mark their defection, usually they scratch their headbands. If he was a nuke-nin, he would have somehow marked the Konoha-insignia. Still, we can't rule out the possibility that the man that saved you was an enemy that chose to leave the insignia intact to gain less attention."

Sasuke nodded. He didn't think that the man in the kitsune-mask was an enemy, but still he knew that in the world of Shinobi, the global motto was "Better safe than sorry", and that counted double when dealing with unknown people.

Sarutobi sighed. "You may leave Sasuke."

Sasuke nodded. "Thank you, Hokage-sama."

And he left, while Sarutobi wondered how much he should tell the council. But both shared a single thought: 'Who is this kitsune?'

* * *

Tuesday had come and Sasuke had been baffled at the training Naruto put himself through on a near-daily basis. The first hour had left Sasuke gasping for air, and he had barely even started on chakra-control. However, Sasuke took it like a good sportsman and asked if they could train again, maybe on a more moderate level. Naruto happily agreed, eager to spend time with his new friend.

Needless to say that the civilians were not happy that the 'demon brat' was 'infecting' the 'last Uchiha', but with the Hokage supporting the friendship and the noticeable improvement in Sasuke's mental constitution and mood, there was little they could do.

They trained on a daily basis, improving at a baffling pace, both physically, chakra-wise, and in their knowledge of non-elemental jutsu. And before one noticed, a year had passed.

Naruto was training at his private ground, alone for a change. It was the day of the massacre, and Sasuke had remained in Konoha for the day, paying his respects to his deceased family. So Naruto was alone for the day. He had gone through enhanced physical training and chakra-control, and was plain and simply on his knees, when he saw two figures enter the clearing, locked up in an argument. One of them looked normal, the other one seemed too short and bulky, almost like a humanoid snail. They were both wearing black cloaks with red clouds.

* * *

Sasori and Deidara were not getting along. Both were wondering what the leader had been thinking when he put the two of them together. Yes, they both considered themselves artists, but that was it. And their ideas of art couldn't have been further apart. Which lead to constant bickering between the two, going so far that Itachi and Kisame, Itachi's new partner, were having a bet going on which of the two artist would kill the other one first. Right now they were at it again.

"I tell ya, Sasori, true beauty is fleeting, only existing for a moment before fading away." Deidara stated.

Sasori snorted. "What would a pup like you know about art? True art is eternal, resisting all, remaining unchanged for eternities."

Deidara rolled his eyes. "Ever tried looking at something for an extended period of time? Everything gets boring if ya stare at it for a while, nothing happening."

Sasori shook his head. "You have no idea about art. But again, what did I expect from someone who blows his village's leader to smithereens?"

Deidara grimaced. "Like you're one to talk! I heard ya took your village's leader and made a doll out of him! Why'd ya do it?"

Sasori tilted his head. "He was a horrible tyrant that I couldn't leave in command."

Deidara snorted. "Yeah right. He probably insulted your doll-play and ya wanted his power."

That was part of the reason, but Sasori had told the truth. The Sandaime Kazekage had been a horrible tyrant, suppressing the villagers and ruling with an iron fist. Sasori had taken and killed him, expecting that Suna would have a small fit, throw a party, then he'd return, get his demotion and a slap on the wrists and life would go on.

What had happened was that Suna had sent all available forces to find their evil leader and marked Sasori as an S-ranked Nuke-nin, commonly called Missing-nin. It had been a shock to Sasori, who had suddenly been robbed of his home. With nowhere to go, Sasori had wandered the nations, killing those coming for his head and turning them into puppets, until Akatsuki approached him. They offered shelter from the constant attacks, and since Sasori didn't know what else to do, he had joined. In a way it was sad. Sasori was fighting for an ideal he didn't believe in, he was, or rather would soon be, spreading the word he didn't hear.

Sasori glared at Deidara. "And why did you kill the Tsuchikage?"

Deidara gave a humorless chuckle. "Ironic really, but for the same reason you named: He was a horrible tyrant that I simply couldn't leave in command."

Sasori raised a brow. "Are you sure he didn't just annoy you and insulted your firecrackers?"

Again, Sasori's words had truth in them, but Deidara had not done it for that reason. The Tsuchikage had been as much a despot as the Kazekage, but he had had a worse character. He had permitted slavery, including the killing the slaves, and even female ninja, who belonged to the Tsuchikage only, could not file a complaint if they were raped. The final straw for Deidara had been when the Tsuchikage had sold a childhood-friend that Deidara was planning to marry to an important nobleman, who had degraded, raped and eventually killed her, slicing her throat in front of Deidara when he had tired of her. Deidara had patiently waited until the nobleman and the Tsuchikage had met again in the latter's office, then blasted it to hell, killing them both.

One thing one must know about Iwa, a village located in a small valley, is that while the majority of it was built inside of the canyon walls, there are many large towers inside of the valley. In these towers Iwa does it's business, merchants set up camp and store their goods there. The oldest and largest tower is the village-center of sorts. Here the civilians and many ninja spend a majority of their time, and the top floors are reserved for the Tsuchikage. His home and office are there, on the place with the best view over Iwa.

But as Deidara had to find out, the Tsuchikage's tower was not only the oldest, but also the most fragile building in Iwa. When Deidara killed his mortal foes, the entire tower had collapsed, killing hundreds, if not thousands.

* * *

_Flashback_

Deidara watched the tower collapse in silent horro, his nails digging into the flesh beside his eyes. He couldn't believe what had just happened. He snorted, then a chuckle escaped his lips. The chuckle grew louder, until Deidara was laughing madly.

"Hehehe... BwahahaHAHAHAHAHA!"

People looked up and saw him, riding his clay-bird. A man in red samurai-armor suddenly jumped up, steam lifting him until he was standing behind Deidara. The man grabbed Deidara's shoulder and spun him around. "DEIDARA, WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?! HAVE YOU COMPLETELY LOST YOUR MIND? WHAT WERE YOU..." The rest died on his lips when he saws Deidara. Tears were running down his face, even while he was laughing. Deidara's fingers had long since clawed away the skin on his cheekbones and were now digging their way into his flesh. Deidara looked at the man, finally stopping in his laughter.

"Han, it just fell apart. I killed them, the scum who killed, who slaughtered Natsumi, but the tower just fell apart. Tell me Han, why did the tower collapse? Was it me? Was it my art? Was this the beauty of destruction? I'm an artist, is it not my duty to create beauty? Does beauty lie in annihilation? It does, doesn't it? Yeah, it must, yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah..."

Han finally understood. It was no small secret that Deidara's love, a civilian, had been sold by the Tsuchikage. The man had done it to show Deidara his power, to remind him that as a shinobi, Deidara belonged to him alone while the civilians belonged to whoever the Tsuchikage wanted them to belong to, and made the mistake of saying that right into Deidara's face. Everyone who knew Deidara knew that he hated his Kage, and would not let this rest. He had taken revenge, but the tower hadn't been as eternal as everyone was taught. And now Deidara was breaking because of the results of his actions, going insane to keep himself from falling apart. If nobody stopped him, he'd probably have convinced himself that art was only found in blowing the shit out of stuff in a few minutes.

Han did the only thing he could think of: He slapped Deidara in the face. "Wake up! What are you babbling about? Think of what Natsumi would say if she saw you like this!"

Deidara blinked, slowly coming back to reality. "She'd tell me to stop sulking. She always said, 'Screw the past, live the present, make the future'. I hate ya Han, and we both know that, but today, I'm grateful for your actions. However, I can't stay in Iwa, not after this. Goodbye Han, let us never meet again. But for me to make my exit, I'm afraid I have to loose some weight. Brace for impact!"

With that, the bird tilted, Han barely managing to stick with a foot. Deidara saw it and threw two of his clay-spiders at him. Han caught them, Deidara muttered "Katsu!" and the twin explosions knocked Han off for good. While he broke his fall with steam, Han watched the clay-bird shrink until it was no longer visible. 'Goodbye Deidara.' Han thought 'I hated you, but I know you were loyal to your village, and now, perhaps for its own best, you leave it. May we never meet again.'

* * *

Deidara had fled Iwa, not at all surprised when he had found himself an S-class Nuke-nin. But unlike Sasori, he had not come far before Akatsuki had cornered him. He had refused to join, then Itachi had shown up and taken him down with a few basic genjutsu, his _Tsukiyomi_ and a shitload of skill. Begrudgingly, he had chosen to join Akatsuki, essentially live to fight another day, over being killed on the spot. Ever since that day, he had, in that case actually with Sasori's help, constructed a device that would cover his left eye and constantly put genjutsu on it as long as he fed it with chakra. The level of the genjutsu could be adjusted, going from simple ones to _Tsukiyomi_-quality. He had been wearing it for a few months, and after getting used to it he could now not only operate on the same level as before, but his left eye was now able to see through almost all low-level genjutsu.

Shaking himself from the painful memories, Deidara looked up and saw a young kid kneeling on the ground, seemingly catching his breath. Then he saw the whisker-marks. "What have we here? Correct me if I'm wrong, but don't ya think that the kid there is the Kyuubi's vessel?"

Sasori looked at the kid. "He matches the descriptions, and we're close enough to Konoha, so it's possible."

Deidara looked at him. "Now what? We snatch him?"

Sasori thought about it, then he shook his head. "Leader was clear when he said that while the nine bijuu are the most important things we need, that we should try to get other, preferably unsealed and therefore unmissed demons first. He also mentioned that the Kyuubi is special, and that after sealing it, we can no longer seal other demons, so it has to go last. Taking the kid now would only call Konoha on our tails, and we'd have to find a place to keep the kid for years. All in all, there's no point."

Deidara nodded, then he grinned. "I have an idea."

Sasori raised a brow. "A rare occurrence."

"Shut up!" Deidara hissed. "We simply let the kid decide what art is, as an uninvolved party."

Sasori snorted. "He's a little kid. Little kids love explosions." He stated, but he still started moving towards the kid.

Deidara grinned. "I know."

* * *

Naruto looked at the two approaching figures. They didn't seem bad, he had developed a keen sense of who wanted to hurt him of not, so Naruto immediately classified them as friendly. He waved and smiled at them. "Hi, I'm Naruto, nice to meet you. What are you doing here, this place is a good distance away from any road."

Minato was not as trusting. 'Watch out Naruto, I don't trust the blond one.'

'Why?' Naruto asked.

'In the war, I fought and killed many shinobi from Iwa. They weren't very good losers, and they hate me and anything that has anything to do with me, can be associated with me or resembles me. Last I heard, Iwa killed off all toads because I summoned them, Jiraya is having a hard time not only getting into Iwa, but Tsuchi no Kuni altogether, and children that even faintly resemble me are banished or killed.' Minato explained.

Naruto wasn't too worried. 'They don't look like they want to hurt me, and if push comes to shove, I can surprise them and make a break for it.'

The two men looked at him. Then the blond one spoke. "Name's Deidara, that's my partner Sasori. We're just going our way, sheer coincidence that we landed here. But, since we are here and you are too, maybe ya can help us."

Naruto nodded, he was always happy to help. "Sure."

Now Sasori spoke. "We were discussing about art. In my opinion, art is something that exists for eternities, resisting the ever-changing times with sovereign beauty."

Deidara cleared his throat. "And I tell him that's boring. Things that never change cannot captivate for long. I believe that true art is fleeting, something that exists for but a moment before fading away."

Naruto tilted his head. It was a difficult question. Then he spoke. "I'm an amateur, but isn't both art? Fireworks are beautiful, but a painting can be as well. I always thought that it wasn't important how long something exists, but what effect it has on the people that see it."

Deidara and Sasori blinked, then they looked at each other. After a few seconds, they both chuckled. "Leave it to a kid to point out something so obvious that everyone else missed it." Deidara said.

Sasori nodded. Then he looked at Naruto. "You still haven't told us what you were doing out here in the middle of nowhere."

Naruto scratched his head. "Oh yeah, I forgot. I'm training here, since I want to become Hokage one day, I need to be strong." He smiled widely.

Sasori chuckled. "A grand dream. What do you think Deidara? I'm surprised you're not squeezing the life out of him yet, considering who he greatly resembles."

Deidara waved his hand. "Spare me the history lesson. The kid could be the Flash's twin, child or reincarnation for all I care. If I have to hear one more speech about how 'We must avenge the humiliation the Yondaime Hokage gave us!', I'll puke."

Sasori tilted his head. "Really? Give me a minute, I'll draft one."

Deidara glared at his partner. "Don't you dare." He looked back at Naruto. "So why out here? Why not in Konoha, where people would help you and you can play with your friends?"

Naruto's eyes turned sad. "Because I'm not safe there. I spent my early childhood alone, the only one who cared for me was jiji, and he had many duties, so he couldn't spend a lot of time with me."

"Jiji?" Sasori asked. What Naruto had told him reminded Sasori of his own childhood. No friends, denounced as weird, baba the only one that looked after him, and having to leave him completely alone because of her duties for three quarters of the time. Feelings that Sasori thought he had long forgotten began to reemerge inside of him. He decided that he'd help a little. Not much, just a push in the right direction.

Naruto scratched his head again. "Well, he wasn't really my grandfather, but since I'm an orphan, he looked after me. For the first years of my life, he was the only one I had. Later I made a few friends, but only one of them is my age, and I only met him a year ago."

Deidara remembered that thanks to his multitude of mouths, he had spent his childhood as an outcast, with only a single friend, the same one he had violently lost thanks to the late Tsuchikage and that detestable nobleman. He knew how precious true friends were, and decided to help the kid keep his. Of course he couldn't just teach him S-class jutsu, but there was one he liked, not because of its offensive abilities, which were slim to none, but because it was a very useful jutsu to know.

"Tell ya what Naruto. I'll teach ya a jutsu, one of my personal favorites. It's not a destructive one, but it saved my neck a few times. It's called _Doton: Mogurakure no Justu_ and it allows ya to travel through the ground. I'll even throw in the advanced form, _Doton: Dochuu Senkou_, which is the same thing, only you can move much faster. My tip is learn them in the order I gave them. They're both C-ranked, but trust me, with a little imagination, they pack a punch. These are the handsigns." He showed them to Naruto, who was thinking about the new highs these jutsu would give his prankster-career.

"Thanks, Deidara-niisan. Sasori-niisan, don't you think they're cool?"

Sasori chuckled. "Niisan, huh? Very well, I have something for you as well, but first, you should see my real face." With that, the hooded body rose, and a smaller figure with red hair slipped out. He shook his head. "It's been a while since I left Hiroku, my transport-puppet." He looked at Naruto, who was gaping at him. "As you can see, I'm a puppeteer. What I'll teach you something that can both be used as an attack and a exercise for chakra-control. I'll teach you how to create chakra-strings."

Deidara gave Sasori a distrusting glance. "Are ya trying to make the kid a puppeteer?"

Sasori shook his head. "No, I can tell that he is not the type for the art of puppetry. He will want to fight his enemies personally, not with a puppet doing the fighting. Still, the threads can be used for more than puppetry." He turned back to Naruto and explained how to form the strings.

Afterwords Naruto told them a little about himself, and they spoke about themselves and what things were like in their homes. Until Deidara asked a single question.

"So Naruto, how many people are on your side?"

Naruto scratched his head. "Well, there's Hokage-jiji, old man Ichiraku and his daughter, my newest friend Sasuke, a teacher Iruka who I swear has some magical abilities. He always catches me when I make a prank, it's not fair! Anko-neesan likes me, but she's a little weird. Anyways, then there are a few ANBU that like me, namely Kakashi-niisan, Tenzo-niisan, Yuugao-neesan and Itachi-niisan."

Deidara looked up, staring like Christmas had come early. "Itachi? As in Itachi Uchiha?"

Naruto nodded. "Yep, that's him. I still don't think he just killed his family for now reason, it's not like him!"

Deidara's grin threatened to split his face. "Do tell me more."

And Naruto told them more, Sasori and Deidara exchanging glances that showed that they had the same idea. Itachi wouldn't know what hit him.

Soon, the sun was sinking and Sasori and Deidara decided to say goodbye to the blond kid who, so they noticed, somehow had managed to worm his way into their hearts.

* * *

Itachi was nervous for some reason. Sasori had asked if they could have a talk between four eyes, and Itachi complied, knowing that the puppeteer was not the type of person for idle and pointless chatter. He entered one of Akatsuki's training-halls, which were deserted except for a lone figure, who now raised his head to look at him.

"You're right on time. Not too early, not too late. Good. I hate waiting or making others wait."

Itachi bit his lip. In Konoha, when someone was told that he wasn't late, the usual reply was: 'Am I Kakashi?', but he wasn't sure if Sasori would get the joke, so he swallowed that. "Why have you called me?" He asked instead.

Sasori nodded. "Strait to the point, good. You see, on my last journey, I came a bit close to Konoha, and I met a blond kid with whisker-marks. The Kyuubi-jinchuuriki, to be exact."

Itachi's eyes narrowed slightly, this was not good. "And what did you do with it?"

"Nothing." Sasori replied. "Leader said the Kyuubi has to go last, so there's no point in taking it now. Besides, I believe you volunteered to get the Kyuubi, so why should I do your job?"

Itachi nodded. "I see. But you didn't call me here just to tell me that, did you?"

Sasori shook his head. "No, I didn't. You see, I had a very interesting conversation with little Naruto, and he told me some fascinating stories about his Itachi-niisan."

Itachi jumped backwards, Sharingan activated, and prepared for a fight.

Sasori looked at him. "You cannot defeat me Itachi, you lack experience, former ANBU or not."

Itachi ground his teeth. "We'll see." He said.

Sasori still made no move to attack. "You never had any intention of capturing Kyuubi, did you?"

Itachi activated his Mangekyo. "No. But you know too much. _Tsukiyomi_."

Sasori remained calm. "Genjutsu, even the famous _Tsukiyomi_, do not work on me."

Itachi cursed silently, his genjutsu were useless. "Then I'll improvise." He stated.

"I think not." A voice behind Itachi spoke, and suddenly Itachi felt something tighten on his neck, like a collar. He looked down and saw a snake made of white clay that was on his neck like a too small necklace. There was only one person who used that kind of clay in Akatsuki, and that person hated Itachi's guts.

"Deidara." Itachi stated.

"Correct." came the mocking voice "Did you forget that Akatsuki always travel in groups of two? Don't turn around, I'd hate to be hit by your genjutsu. And don't try anything funny, that snake has more than enough power to take your head off."

Itachi knew he was beaten. "What do you want?" He asked.

Deidara grinned. "Sasori, what should we do with this traitor?"

Sasori looked at Itachi. "If I find a way to use his eyes, he'd make a good puppet, so try to leave the head at least somewhat intact."

Itachi was close to a panic. It couldn't just end like this! Then Deidara spoke again. "Ya know, if ya don't work for Akatsuki, why are you here?"

Itachi knew there was no point in lying, but that was no reason to tell them everything. "I intended to gather information that may save Naruto's life."

Deidara nodded. "I see. Well, that's all we wanted to know, so there's no point in doing this anymore."

Sasori nodded to Deidara. "Do it."

Itachi closed his eyes and waited for the end.

Deidara grinned. "KATSU!"

…

After ten seconds, he opened them again. The clay-snake had exploded, but it wasn't worse than a firecracker, and most of the blast had gone outwards. Itachi didn't even had a burn on his neck. 'A dud?' he wondered, then he trashed that thought. Deidara didn't make duds, if he wanted that his creations to trash something, it'd be trashed. Which only left the logical conclusion that Deidara didn't want to kill Itachi. But why? When he turned around, Deidara grinned at him.

"That look was priceless! Gave ya quite a scare, huh?"

"Why?" That was all Itachi managed to say.

Deidara shrugged. "Why we didn't kill ya? Ya don't want Naruto to die, we don't want Naruto to die, so why should I blow your lights out?"

Sasori nodded. "Don't ask me how, but he managed to sneak his way into our hearts."

For the first time since he joined Akatsuki, technically second if you counted the time Hidan had kicked Samehada off the top of a tower, only for Kisame to immediately jump after it, Itachi smiled. "He does that to people, doesn't he?"

Deidara nodded. "Ya can say that again."

* * *

Chapter 6 is done. Took a while, but I had 3 exams this week. Heck, I'm amazed I even got it done. Not sure when chapter 7 will come out, but I'm working on it. And I have readers in Japan, I'm so proud of myself, sniff.

The next chapter will probably be a bit more training, and bringing something else into the story that I haven't seen in any other fic yet. Maybe I'll include the first kill, but I kinda doubt it, since I want Naruto to finally pick up something from the Uchiha-clan.

IMPORTANT QUESTION: Since I'm still new to the whole fanfic-genre I have to ask: How many words does a fic have to have in order to be called 'epic length'? I've seen the term here and there, and I'm wondering how much I have to write to put that beneath my stories.

So yes, amongst those of the Akatsuki that get a redemption, Sasori, Itachi and Deidara are amongst the top. I thought they were cool, so I decided to give them redemption. Now that I think about it, my list of 'Akatsuki Redemption' is pretty long. Oh well, they're not my main antagonists anyway, at least most of them aren't.

And I've given Sasori and especially Deidara reasons for their actions. I also made Deidara more human, as 'homicidal mad bomber' and 'redemption' don't exactly match. In my fic, the reason Deidara always says yeah would be because he snapped, and since that didn't happen, mainly because I find it annoying to write 'yeah' or 'believe it' after every sentence, Deidara will not do it. I find it hard enough using accents in writing, as I'm sometimes having problems writing the words correctly, no need to purposefully make them wrong.

And concerning the jutsu that the two gave Naruto, I never believed in this whole 'Oh look, there's someone laying on the ground!' 'You're right! Hey, that's Naruto Uzumaki, the Kyuubi-jinchuuriki! Oh, he had such a hard life, let's teach him our most prized and secret S-class jutsu!' thing. I find it more realistic they'd give him something useful, yet not too powerful. And those jutsu will help Naruto along the way.

Oh, and Sasuke will still occasionally act cold and like an ass, just not to Naruto.

Now, to my reviewers.

To Sarutin Keeper: Thanks for the advice, but the western zodiac is in another language, Latin I believe, anyways. Libra, Cancer, Sagittarius, and Pisces are not words that stem from the English language.

To justbin: I'm sorry that you didn't like the Itachi-sequence, I needed to peak Naruto's interest in coming to the compound and looking out for and helping Sasuke. About your comments for Naruto's opponents, I'm grateful for those, since they gave me an idea. Also, it's not like any demon can come and challenge Kyuubi's title. As Kyuubi is the nine-tailed bijuu, only a nine-tailed demon can challenge it for the title, otherwise all nine bijuu would have eight or nine tails. And nine-tailed demons are both rare, as it's the pinnacle of demon evolution, and very proud, seeing themselves as the best, so they wouldn't challenge Kyuubi while he was trapped in a host. It wouldn't work anyway, since the demon would be fighting Naruto, not Kyuubi, the one to be defeated would also be Naruto, leaving Kyuubi with its title. So, when sealed, the bijuu's power is weakened, but the title is safe. And I have nothing against long reviews, on the contrary, they show that people actually have their own thoughts and ideas about my story, which is, in my opinion, always good, even if the content is harsh. It just shows that I have much to learn. So by all means, write long reviews, I don't mind, I'd be happy.

To Challenger: Sorry, but no. I have a hard enough time not immediately overpowering him as it is, the Rinnegan would push things too far. Also, the idea for this story is older than Kishimoto's revalation about the Senju & Uchiha, so in my fic, neither clan is related to the Sage of the Six Paths. His only living descendant is Nagato/Pain. Said Sage has his own history in this fic, but that will be revealed in due time.

To deadw8: Yes, I will definitely do time-skips. I'm way too lazy to write Naruto's four years before he becomes a genin. Important revelations will be shown, and the skip continues once they're sufficiently explained.

Regarding nirvana12's PM: Yes, Naruto will eventually be able to use Mokuton and the Sharingan by himself, and the Eternal Mangekyo as well. Madara isn't what grants him the Sharingan beyond being the reason Naruto has it, he's what keeps Naruto from using the Mangekyo before he is ready.

To Jouaint: Can I create six demons stronger than the bijuu? Sorry, no way, not working. Can I create six devils equal or stronger than the bijuu? Sure, no problem, can do. But I can't say how big a role they'll play or if they'll personally appear.

To deltabeta26: Actually, the name Fubuki did ring a bell, there's a puppeteer-Naruto fic where she's paired with him, and a half-jinchuuriki. Her as a pairing? I'll take it into consideration, since I really haven't decided on pairings yet.

To HeWhoWatchesFromTheMist: you may be right, I'm considering putting epic length there instead, but I'm not sure if I can, hence the question at the top of the AN.

To Little Fox Kit: Sure, take a cookie. Take a box of cookies. Take over the cookie-industry, MUHAHAHAHA! Jokes aside, good job noticing it. Funny thing, I didn't even consciously notice that it's from Transformers, it just kinda popped into my head.

To Monsay: 1. He'll sit his time at the academy, since Naruto isn't even near ANBU-level by the time the academy starts, not counting when possessed. But he'll quickly gain skills. The teams will probably be the same, though Team 7 will not act like the one in canon. 2. Definitely NOT NaruSaku. Not yaoi either. Beyond that? I'm leaning towards harem, but I really haven't decided. That's why I ask my reviewers every two chapters if they have a pairing they want to see, so I can take it into consideration. 3. I have plans for Haku, but Zabuza's fate is completely up to my reviewers. So far, his chances of survival are not bad.

To Edvin-A: No NaruSaku, and no one ten years older than him. I already decided that much, and mentioned both points at least once before. The NaruSaku-thing I renounce for the third time, not counting the one above.

To hirochick: Yes, Deidara is also redeemed. As for Kimimaru, just like with Haku, I have plans for him.

To lendaras: I'm not giving away Tobi's identity that easy, but I'll say this much: It both is and isn't what people expect.

Now I really think I wrote enough for now, so it's your turn

Please Review


	7. Elements and Forces

Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I own Naruto... on Ultimate Ninja 1-4, especially with Itachi

"Speaking/SHOUTING"

'Thinking'

"_**Summon/bijuu"**_

"_**God/Elemental/Spirit"**_

"**Hashirama"**

"_Madara"_

"Minato"

"_Jutsu"_

* * *

Naruto yawned. With his _Kage Bunshin_, he had managed to use the jutsu Deidara-niisan had given him, but the chakra-strings were still difficult. Naruto had high hopes for that on, he had some ideas that not only held incredible prank-potential, but could actually be useful in his career as a ninja.

His father and the others had thought that the jutsu given were a good cue to start his elemental training, and with that, indirectly Sasuke's. But the only problem was, they didn't know his elemental affinities. To solve that problem, Naruto was walking with Hokage-jiji, listening to him talk about the village and remembering old times. It was surprisingly interesting to hear what had been going on when jiji had been as young as Naruto was now. But eventually, Naruto cleared his throat.

"Jiji, can I ask you for a favor?"

Sarutobi smiled. "Of course Naruto, what is it?"

Naruto looked nervous. "Well, the Guardians" he tapped his forehead "said it was time to start with my training in elemental manipulation, but I don't know my element, so we don't know what to train."

Sarutobi raised a brow. Elemental manipulation at that age, while not unheard of, was rare. Then again, Naruto was not something you could call average either, something Sarutobi swore he inherited from his parents. He sighed, then he looked for something in his pockets. "I know I had it with me, now where...? Ah, here it is." He pulled out a slip of paper and gave it to Naruto. "Just channel your chakra into it, then we'll know."

Naruto shrugged and focused his chakra into the paper. What happened then nobody expected. A X-shaped cut appeared, cutting the slip into four pieces. One dropped to the ground like a rock, totally soaked. One crumbled to the size of a pea, as if an invisible hand had gripped it. One was blown away, having instantly turned into a fine powder. The last one caught fire, as if it had been soaked in oil.

Unfortunately for Naruto, the piece that caught fire was the piece he was still holding, and to make matters worse, the fire started right where he was holding it. With a hiss of pain, he dropped it. It had burned to ashes by the time it reached the ground. Sucking on his burned fingers, he looked at Sarutobi. "What happened?"

The Sandaime blinked. "You seem to have affinities for all five elements, and strong ones too. If I had to guess, I'd say Wind is your strongest, since it happened first. It probably has something to do with your tenant."

Naruto heard Kyuubi's voice. _**'No, it doesn't. Unlike most other bijuu, I never focused on developing my elemental skills until I had a specialty, since I had a different power that was much better anyways. But I can't use it anymore, as it's sealing the... Anyways, your affinities have nothing to do with me.'**_

Minato spoke up. 'It may have something to do with us residing inside of you. My affinities were Wind and Lightning.'

Hashirama agreed. **'That is possible. As you know, I use Mokuton, so my affinities were obviously Earth and Water.'**

Madara mentally shrugged. _'As for me, I'm an Uchiha. We have minor affinities to all five elements, otherwise our Sharingan would not be as effective. But my main affinity was Fire, weak secondary affinities with Lightning and Wind. My Earth and Water affinities were pretty much neglectable.'_

Kyuubi spoke up again. _**'Anyways, that little slip of paper told you that your affinities for all elements are strong enough to be trained. Still, I wonder about your other affinities. Ask the old man when you can do the actual affinity-test, seeing that those slips must be designed for on-the-spot-identification, like when less experienced ninja get into situations where they need elemental training to keep up with foes.'**_

Naruto had no idea what Kyuubi meant, but it sounded good, so he asked. "Um jiji, Kyuubi wants to know if we can do the real test, to see my other affinities."

Sarutobi blinked. "Real test? That is the only test there is." Then something dawned on he when he remembered what Naruto had said some time ago. "Or at least, that's the only test that hasn't been forgotten."

Kyuubi gaped. _**'This has to be a joke! Ask him if the words force-manipulation ring a bell.'**_

They didn't. Kyuubi sighed. _**'Okay Naruto, you will repeat my words just as I say them.'**_

Naruto nodded, then he started. "According to Kyuubi, there are five elements, Earth, Wind, Fire, Water and Lightning. Those can be mixed, creating sub-elements. However, there are also five forces. These forces, with a single exception, cannot be mixed and you can't have affinities for more then one force, with the exception of the before mentioned mix or certain kekkei genkai. Also, not everyone has a force-affinity, they're actually pretty rare, only one in five-thousand has one. Also, unlike elemental manipulation, if you don't have the affinity, then the force is forever out of your reach."

Sarutobi gulped. This could topple the entire ninja-world. But true to his title as 'the Professor', he couldn't resist wanting to learn more. "What are those forces?"

Naruto winced. "Kyuubi was getting to that. There are Time and Space, these two can be owned simultaneously and form the only sub-force, Dimension. The other three forces are Gravity, Void and Death. Kyuubi says he'll answer questions now."

Sarutobi focused to get his thoughts in order. The Kyuubi was a kitsune, and kitsunes were tricksters. If Sarutobi assumed what Kyuubi had said was true, then this had all the potential to revolutionize the world of shinobi. Or was it just bringing it back to its old glory? Kyuubi said he'd answer questions, but he never said how many. He needed to be careful. He decided on his first question. "Death? You mean that they control death?"

Naruto listened to Kyuubi, then he shook his head. "Death is just an overview. They called it that because the topic seemed to fit. While there are some instant-death-techniques, they're really advanced. Shiton mainly focuses on three things: necromancy, souls and curses. Before you ask, Souls means using souls as weapons, or directly attacking the souls of an enemy. A experienced Shiton-user can pull out your soul, simply by directly touching you and pulling it out. Necromancy doesn't restore life, it controls the dead to do your bidding, though temporary resurrection is possible. And curses is self-explanatory, it casts curses on someone, usually leading to death, though other results are possible."

Sarutobi rubbed his beard. "What about Void? Manipulating... Nothing? How does that work?"

Naruto took a moment, then he replied. "Void is in essence indeed nothing. However, vacuums don't exist very long, do they? With the Void-element, you can drain others of their strength, their chakra, or anything else. Also, the true masters can create the Void, reducing all to nothing. Also, looking into absolute void can break weak minds, as humans were not meant to gaze into a realm where not even light or darkness exists."

Sarutobi nodded. That final stage of mastery was scary indeed, especially if it could be used on a wide scale. To be able to make an army vanish, it was a humbling thought. He looked at Naruto. "Does Kyuubi know how to make that force affinity-detecting paper? And does he know how to train those that have them?"

Naruto focused. "Kyuubi says he knows how to make the paper, though he needs certain things, some can be brought, and some he must get himself. As for the force-training, he says that he doesn't know too much, but he knows were to get more information. The only catch is that we need a force-user of that affinity to reach the source for that information. He says the next question is the last he'll answer."

Sarutobi thought about it. "Can he make some of that paper for us?"

Naruto was silent almost half a minute, then he looked into Sarutobi's eyes. Naruto's irises were red with slitted pupils. _**"I thought you'd never ask."**_

* * *

A week had passed, Naruto had managed to get a second slip of chakra-paper, despite its according to Kyuubi inferior quality, and given it to Sasuke. After all, why should he be the only one who learned to use elements? Naruto had already decided to learn those that Sasuke could use as well last, so they could compete without making the other one look bad if they made it first, after all, different elements, different exercises, different time to get them done.

Sarutobi had told Naruto that affinities sometimes didn't develop until one was twenty, to which Kyuubi said bullshit. According to the fox, affinities were determined at birth, the only thing changing is how strong these affinities get. Originally weak affinities could grow incredibly strong, but originally strong ones could just as easily wither until it was really weak. Kyuubi described it as being similar to muscles. They built up naturally for a while, but once it reached the natural peak, if they weren't used, they degenerated. Granted, it took much longer than with muscles, but if you don't use them, they'll eventually weaken.

Sasuke's affinities were Fire, no surprise there, and to their amazement, Lightning. Both affinities were equal in strength, seeing as the paper had crumbled and caught fire at the same time, though Naruto was a bit peeved when he saw that in Sasuke's case, the flames started at the side that was the furthest away from Sasuke's fingers. Sasuke had decided to train fire first, since it was not only his clan's affinity, but they had lots of jutsu and tips to train it in his clan's archives. Lightning would eventually turn into a problem, as there weren't many, or any for that matter, Lightning-users in Konoha. The only one was Kakashi-niisan, and as ridiculous as it sounds, despite having copied over a thousand jutsu, the only truly effective Raiton he knew were the ones he made himself, the _Chidori_ and its stronger brother, the _Raikiri_.

Minato knew a few, ranking somewhere between _mediocre_ and _not bad, really, not bad, kudos_, but again, nothing really mind-blowing, as Kumo and Konoha hadn't fought on the same side for a long time. While Kumo of course didn't have a monopoly on Raiton, it was still the best place to go to find some. So learning actual Raiton-jutsu would have to take a backseat for a while, until the other ones' were on a good level. They would still train the element, to make sure the affinity didn't wither away.

But right now, Naruto was standing in front of the Hokage and an old man, who jiji introduced as Kokami. Kokami was apparently a paper-master, meaning he could create the paper to create the chakra-analyzing slips. Kyuubi's voice rang inside of Naruto's head. _**'Here I have to do the talking, and I need control of your body too. Don't worry, those stupid Guardians can lock me away instantaneously if necessary.'**_

Naruto nodded and relinquished his hold. Kyuubi took over and Naruto's irises turned crimson. Then he spoke. _**"Now old human, I've heard the old man say that you make the paper out of a tree grown with chakra. Please tell me there's more to it than that."**_

Kokami nodded. "My code forbids me from giving away all secrets, but I can say that the best paper is gained from the Bansho no Ki (Tree of All Creation)."

Kyuubi nodded. _**"At least you haven't forgotten everything."**_

Kokami nodded. "We have tried several things, but the only thing that worked was cutting a young tree before the bark hardened beyond what can be cut down and use the heartwood."

Now Kyuubi stared. _**"You're kidding! I don't believe this! First of all, you need an old tree, the older the better. And secondly, the heartwood? The wood isn't meant to channel chakra, so of course it only works with what isn't completely formed yet! You could just as well make that paper out of infants, the effects would be the same! To make the paper **__**correctly**__**, you need an old Bansho no Ki, one that I know is around here somewhere, and you don't use the wood, you use the leaves."**_

Kokami stared at him. What this demonized boy had just said didn't fit with anything he'd learned. He decided to voice the biggest problem in what the demon had said. "The leaves? The Bansho no Ki is a tree that absorbs chakra from its surroundings. Full grown trees can easily reach a hundred feet or more, and a full-grown tree absorbs all chakra it makes contact with it, and its bark is harder than diamond. It can't be cut by any shinobi-or non-shinobi-means. You can't even tree-climb it, seeing it absorbs the chakra your using to stick immediately, making you drop like a rock. The leaves grow in heights starting at eighty feet, how would you get the leaves?"

Kyuubi rolled his eyes. _**"By doing the correct ceremony, how else?"**_

Now Sarutobi decided to speak up. "Perhaps it is easier if you show us this ritual?"

Kyuubi nodded. _**"Lead the way, I'm not sure where the tree is. Ever since you founded this village, all the landmarks are gone. You even changed the layouts of the mountains."**_

* * *

When they reached it, Kyuubi nodded. _**"I remembered it being in a hidden valley within mountains, but I didn't expect it to be the mountain you carve you leaders' faces into."**_

Kokami nodded. "It wasn't found until after the village was founded, and attempts to remove it failed miserably. So, how does this ceremony work?"

Kyuubi looked at them. _**"For that, I need a blade. A dagger, even a kunai would be enough, but I need a sharp object."**_

Kokami looked at him. "The bark is harder than diamond, the only thing you could cut with it here would be us."

Kyuubi rolled his eyes. _**"Just give me a kunai, I won't use it against you."**_

Sarutobi nodded and gave the kunai. Kyuubi raised Naruto's right hand, then slashed the palm.

"What are you...?" Sarutobi started, but then he paused. Kyuubi had formed a cup with the cut hand, the blood forming a small puddle in the palm, before dipping his index-finger in it and started writing a complex seal on the bark. He dipped his finger three more times before the seal was complete, yet it barely took five seconds.

Kyuubi healed the palm, shook off the blood and placed all ten fingertips on the seal, letting chakra flow into it. _**"This ritual is complex. The blood needs to be fresh, the seal must be drawn in under ten seconds and the chakra must come from the owner of the blood. The chakra is used by the tree to regrow what it gives, the more you give, the more you get. If everything is done right, we should get results in a few... well this is unexpected."**_

Above their heads, a figure had begun to materialize in a gale of flower-petals. It was a woman with long hair in the color of fresh grass that was flowing in a non-existent breeze. Her skin was dark, having the color of tree-bark, yet absolutely smooth. Her D-cup bust and hourglass-figure were accented by a short kimono that pictured forests and clearings. She was barefoot, not that she seemed to need shoes as she floated above them, laying on her side. When she opened her eyes, they were of a dark-green coloring. She chuckled, her voice sounding somewhat like wind passing through treetops. _**"Now this is interesting."**_

Kyuubi bowed. _**"I had not expected a spirit to appear, much less you, Kimori-sama **_(Kimori=Tree-Forest. Not very original, but I didn't have any better ideas)_**."**_

Kimori chuckled. _**"I was curious. It has been a very long time since anyone used that ritual, much less with blood and chakra that were of one yet four, and a demon's youki in addition. And what do I find, the Kyuubi-jinchuuriki. I must say, this is fascinating."**_

Sarutobi had trouble not to get a nosebleed, and Kokami wasn't faring any better, but the Hokage finally spoke. "Kyuubi, who is that?"

Kyuubi looked at him. _**"Show respect mortal, you are in the presence of a being that is my equal, **__**perhaps even my superior. Before you is Kimori, the ruler of all plant-spirits, or perhaps you better understand if I call her the most powerful of all wood- and plant-elementals."**_

Sarutobi's eyes bulged. He knew of elementals, spirits of elements, equal to demons yet very different. Elementals existed the five main-elements and every sub-element, even acid, not to mention light-elementals and darkness-elementals. They lived inside of their own realms, yet they could use their element as a gateway to this one. Here, they could easily exist outside of their elements, though slightly weakened. They didn't use jutsu, nor had they any need to since they could control their element to a degree impossible to mortals. It was said that a mid-level elemental could go toe-to-toe with a kage, the high level ones rumored to be strong enough to beat a legion of kage-level opponents. Rumors of elemental rulers existed, they were said to possess the strength of lesser gods, and being seen as demigods themselves. If this woman was one, she could destroy Konoha with but a wave of her hand, especially if you considered Konoha was built right inside of her element.

Kimori smiled. _**"You need not worry, Hiruzen Sarutobi. I have no intention of harming your village. In fact, I somehow liked Hashirama Senju, who spread my children in this world. However, they have seen some fairly unpleasant things as well, done to the child Kyuubi is moving and that takes very good care of my children, and while I normally do not involve myself or them, I reserve the right to bring whoever I feel like to his just punishment.."**_

It was clear that when Kimori talked about her children, she was talking about plants in general. Of course, being the elemental of the only element that is actually alive, the bonding was much closer.

Kyuubi snickered. _**"It's not like they could stop you, even if they wanted."**_

Kimori nodded. _**"True. However, I feel it only polite to inform them beforehand. I dislike my children being hurt or taken away for no good reason. But I recall that you have fulfilled the ceremony, so here is your reward."**_

With that, fresh leaves started to rain from the top of the tree, landing in Kyuubi's arms. Eventually the heap started to grow beyond he could carry, so Kyuubi gave control to Naruto for a moment so that he could create a few clones to help with this load. After having showed every single leaf in the clones' hands, Kyuubi took the control back. _**"Now, I hope the papermaker knows how to to turn leaves into raw paper-mass? I'll need some other ingredients, but they're all pretty common, or should be at least."**_

Kokami nodded. "That I can easily do. Also, there is something I'd like to show you. It has been in my family for centuries, so long that we have forgotten what it's for, but we know it was important." He pulled out a wooden box and opened it. Inside was a smooth piece of smooth wood, absolutely strait with rounded edges, as thick as a broomstick and as long as a pen.

Kyuubi's eyes widened. _**"Yes, this is very important, it's called a distributer. You see, the shape of the real paper is not a small slip like what you made, but a loop with three slips three times the size of the ones you use sticking out of it, all the same distance from each other. To actually do the test, a piece of wood like that one was put through the loop, then the chakra was channeled into the wood, which then spread it in a way that each of the slips could show something else. The one on the right shows all elemental-affinities the person has, symbolizing it by how much of the paper is affected. The one on the left showed the force-affinity, or in rare cases, the two force-affinities. Finally, the one on the top shows something else, whether the person is a **__**physical- or a mental-type. Both don't require you to change your chakra's nature, but they have a major impact nonetheless. The Yamanaka use their mental energy to walk into the mind of **__**others, while training or the Eight Gates are easier learned by people with a physical-affinity. Here, it's not unheard of for someone to have both affinities. But now I believe we have some paper to make. But before we make it, swear on the pain of death that the secret of how to make this paper stays between you, me, your successor, but only after I have agreed with him, and others that I deem worthy, who will also be required to make the same vow. But before you make a hasty promise, I feel the need to remind you that while we can no longer sense her, Kimori knows all that happens in forests or in the near vicinity of plant-life, so she will be our witness and should you break your vow, she will be the one to punish you. Should that happen, you will never again be able to be within a fifty-foot radius of a plant without being in mortal danger."**_

Kokami nodded. "I vow upon the pain of death, my honor as a paper-maker and my life that I will hold myself to your conditions." As soon as he finished, a vine with a small flower at its end grew out of the ground, growing until it was at Kokami's neck, before leaning on him, leaving a faint, flower-like mark on his throat. The vine then shrunk until it was nothing but a small flower between the roots of the mighty tree.

Sarutobi nodded. "I believe it's time that we return so that you two can bring something back to the world, or our village for now, that hasn't been seen in centuries."

Kyuubi nodded. _**"But the amount of paper created that way will be very limited, since the only distributer we have is in that old man's possession and those things are a pain to make. For now, the only ones who should take the test are you if you want, the kid, considering that's the only reason I'm even doing all this, and since the brat won't shut up until I agree, eventually the Uchiha-kid. Now let's get this over with, I want to sleep."**_

* * *

The last steps had proceeded fairly smooth, Kokami now knew the seal and what to do to make the paper, and Naruto, who was back in control of his body, was standing before the result of all their effort. The distributer was slid into place, and Naruto placed one hand on each end and channeled his chakra.

On the right paper, it showed what was already known, that he had affinities for all five elements, through here, a quarter of the paper fell to the floor in shreds, while the rest of the paper equally showed the other elemental effects.

The paper on the top split, one part simply wrapping around itself until it was essentially a snake of paper (wrap an empty candy-wrapper back up and keep going for as long as possible. It'll eventually look like |, imagine that), while the other one folded itself to a pyramid, symbolizing Naruto had both physical- and mental-affinities, which wasn't that rare, as one in fifty had both.

Now the left side was the truly interesting part. First it turned yellow, as if it were incredibly old, then it formed five folds, making it look like a row of stairs.

Inside of Naruto's head, Kyuubi smiled. _**"It seems your affinities are both Space and Time, and judging from the reaction, they're strong affinities. With training, you'll be able to master them, and the only existing sub-force, Dimension. How... intriguing. If someone has an affinity with Death, a pitch-black spot will appear on the paper, the bigger the spot the stronger the affinity. Void-affinity causes the paper to fade away. And with Gravity, one half of the paper will become heavier while the other one becomes lighter. The bigger the difference, the stronger the affinity. **__**Anyways, I'm going to sleep for now, wake me if something important happens."**_

The used paper was destroyed with a Katon, and Sarutobi decided that for now, that was all the tests they would do for now, in order to keep things under wraps. Sasuke would get to take the test when he made genin, Sarutobi would take it when he had some free time.

Naruto yawned and decided to follow Kyuubi's lead and hit the sack. After all, he had training with Sasuke tomorrow.

* * *

Sasuke, who had managed to ignite a branch with his chakra, looked at Naruto, who was cutting the plucked leaves of the same branch, actually doing it himself instead of using his _Kage Bunshin_ for a change. They had been friends for over a year now, and Sasuke decided it was time to share his biggest secret with his friend. Something Itachi had told him on that fateful night, something he hadn't shared with anyone. "Hey Naruto, can we talk?"

Naruto looked up, and immediately turned serious when he saw the look on Sasuke's face. "Sure."

Sasuke nodded. "Thanks. It's not really something I can tell you, it's something you have to see with your own eyes. It's at the Uchiha-compound."

Naruto raised a brow. Madara had mentioned that there was something there he wanted to pick up, but after that fateful night, he never mentioned the issue again. Was this connected? "What are we waiting for?" he asked.

Sasuke smiled sadly. He knew that what Naruto would find could very well end their friendship, but Sasuke felt Naruto had the right to know.

* * *

Naruto looked around. He hadn't been here in a year, yet the atmosphere hadn't changed a bit. The Uchiha-complex gave off the feeling of a graveyard. Naruto shook his head. "I don't know how you don't go nuts in here. If it wasn't for me, you'd probably be an antisocial emo with a god-complex by now."

Sasuke looked at him. "I get the emo-part, this place has had the atmosphere of a tomb ever since the other survivors moved out to forget what happened, but why the god-complex?"

Naruto grinned. "Because there would be nobody to kick your ass when you start to go mad with power. You'd drown in your delusions of grandeur if it wasn't for me pulling you back into reality."

"Shut up." it was true though, Sasuke had had a few phases where, intoxicated by a recent achievement, he had started to act superior. Naruto usually smacked the back of his head and the issue was over. Sasuke didn't want to think of what he might become if nobody stopped him before it was too late. 'Probably arrogant. Very, very arrogant.' he told himself. Then he lead Naruto to where he wanted him.

Naruto was surprised, to say the least. "The Uchiha's meeting-room? The place is empty, what do you want to show me here?" he asked.

Instead of answering, Sasuke removed the floor-mat, then a section of the wooden floor, revealing a ladder leading into a dark hole. He started climbing it down, and Naruto followed him.

The lower room was pretty dark, but Sasuke lit an old oil-lamp. Now that Naruto could actually see what was around him, he saw they were in a room about half the size of the one they had come from. But unlike the upper room, this one was filled with scrolls. There was a map of the village, with markings neither boy understood, and a few open scrolls which were coded. Essentially, they had no idea what the Uchiha had been planning.

Sasuke glanced at the papers, having already spent hours unsuccessfully trying to make sense of what he was seeing, and turned to one of the racks filled with scrolls. This one obviously hadn't been looked through in a long time, as the scrolls were covered with dust. With one exception. A small, inconspicuous scroll in the very back seemed to have recently been opened, as it was dust-free.

Meanwhile, Naruto noticed a small, altar-like podium that held multiple scrolls, one of them opened so that everyone could see it. What peaked Naruto's interest was that it was signed with _Madara Uchiha_. Just above the signature, there was a short sentence written. Naruto looked closer and deciphered the letters.

It said: _Looking underneath the underneath is a must for shinobi, but a true shinobi looks underneath that as well, just to be sure._

Madara chuckled. _"Before Konoha was founded, it was custom in the Uchiha-clan to end one's writings, no matter if a letter, a report or something else, with a phrase of advice. It wasn't always important, I recall my father putting down the advice: _When on a mission to protect someone's cattle, always remember to drink upstream from the herd._ Others' were better, I recall Izuna writing: _Remember, a kunai to the head is never too good for your enemy._ But I'm mildly surprised they put my scroll on display, they were sealed away when I left the Uchiha."_

Sasuke took dustless scroll and handed it to Naruto.

Naruto unrolled it, and to his shock, he found that it was a basic description of the Mangekyo-Sharingan and what you had to do to get it, kill your best friend. He looked at Sasuke, who was biting his lip. "Itachi did it. He killed his best friend to gain the Mangekyo. After reading this, I also understood he tried to put me under the _Tsukiyomi_, which would have probably broken me. I don't want to hurt you Naruto, I just think you have the right to know this. I don't want you to learn it from someone else and think I only befriended you for the Mangekyo's power."

Naruto looked into Sasuke's eyes, which held a dejected look. Then he smiled. "Well shit. Who would design a power like that?" Then he smiled. "Sasuke, since you were honest with me and told me something that could have endangered our friendship, I'll do the same. You probably noticed that most of the village doesn't like me, right?"

Sasuke nodded, it was pretty hard not to. He had entered the academy, and ended up in Naruto's class, much to both their joy. After that, Sasuke had noticed that almost all teachers tried to sabotage Naruto. They would send him out on important lessons, which Sasuke would later summarize for him, ignored his questions, not that Naruto asked many, and as a short peek on Naruto's sheet on an exam-day had revealed, he was given different, much harder tests. Whenever Naruto walked through the village, Sasuke noticed glares and disgusted looks. But he had no idea why.

Naruto cleared his throat. "You probably know what happened on October 10th, eight years ago?"

Sasuke nodded. "The Kyuubi attacked and was killed by the Yondaime."

Naruto shook his head. "Kyuubi is not only a demon, but a bijuu. Nothing humans can do will kill it. The Yondaime did the next-best thing, as he sealed it away. But objects would break, animals would be controlled by it and adults wouldn't survive the strain to their chakra-system. The only thing that stood a chance to contain it was an infant."

Sasuke's eyes widened. "Your birthday is October 10th. You don't mean...?"

Naruto nodded. "He sealed the Kyuubi inside of me."

Sasuke remained silent for a moment, then "So they hate you because your the seal that holds Kyuubi and they associate you for their loss?" Naruto nodded. Sasuke's eyes narrowed in disgust. "Idiots. They're all idiots. Oh kami, let it rain brain, for in this village, many are walking around without one."

Naruto blinked. "So, you don't hate me?"

Sasuke looked at him. "Sure I hate you. You're annoying, loud, for some reason always a step ahead of me, always getting us into trouble, what's not to hate?" Then he grinned. "But do I think less of you because of the Kyuubi? No, I don't."

For a second, both were silent. Then they smiled at each other, their friendship now stronger than it ever was.

Naruto looked at Madara's scroll again. "What I'd like to know is why that scroll is there. From what I can tell, there are seals that keep it from being destroyed or moved away more than ten feet, but why present it like this? I mean, Madara Uchiha was called the traitor of all traitors, so why display something he wrote?"

Sasuke looked at the scroll. He hadn't thought about it, but now that Naruto mentioned it, the question was justified. Why display a traitor's work? A glance revealed that the message wasn't anything mind-blowing either, just a short report on his actions as clan-head. The only thing that stuck out was that line above the signature. While Sasuke knew about the old-time tradition that justified that line's existence, but something about it just screamed HIDDEN MEANING!!!

'Lets see. Looking underneath the underneath is an old phrase, and it seems that it just means that you should triple-check everything. But let's associate that with us. We looked underneath our feet, underneath the mat, and then underneath the floorboards to get here, so we quadruple-checked and reached this secret room. Wait, that doesn't make sense. Why give a clue that can only be found at the destination? Let's try this gain. We looked underneath the floor beneath our feet, checked underneath the underneath to get here. Then if we looked underneath that...' With that thought, Sasuke dropped to the floor, looking for some hidden switch. Finally, he grabbed under the scroll-holder, and felt something give away beneath the pressure of his fingertips. He pushed, and moved back as the altar and part of the wall moved forward, before sliding to the side and revealing another opening.

Naruto blinked. 'That was unexpected.' He stated.

Madara chuckled. _'That boy has a good head on his shoulders. I didn't think either of you would get it, but I can live with this surprise. Anyways, what I wanted to get is in there. There are no traps, just a short set of stairs, so go in. and take some light with you, looks like nobody's been in there __since I left.'_

Naruto looked into the darkness. "i think we should take a lamp or something."

Sasuke followed Naruto's gaze. "Good idea." He grabbed it and carefully took the lead, carefully checking every stair for a hidden trap, but as Madara had stated, there was nothing.

The room they entered was small, hardly bigger than Naruto's living room. This room held less scrolls, but a few weapons instead. Naruto saw Katana, tantos, daggers, throwing knives, sickles, bo-staffs, halberds and even an ax. Madara looked through his eyes.

_'Now where did I put it? It was somewhere to the...'_

But Naruto never heard where it was. Suddenly, he had a ringing in his ears, and before he knew it himself, he had spun on his heels and headed to one corner of the room, grabbing what was before him. "Sasuke, you mind if I take this?" His voice sounded strange in his ears, as if someone else had spoken them.

Sasuke shrugged. "Sure, help yourself." He was busy going through the scrolls.

Naruto blinked. "What the hell..." he muttered.

'...just happened?' finished his father.

Hashirama spoke. **'I once had a similar experience. Weapons like the one you're holding are more than lumps of metal. They have their own will, their own souls. The saying that it's not the wielder who chooses the blade, but the blade who chooses the wielder is more than an empty phrase. Apparently, the weapon you're holding chose you as its wielder. What kind of weapon is it?'**

_'It's the _Shinigami no Hika (Dirge of the Death God)_, a very special sword. It belonged to Izuna.'_ Madara stated.

Naruto looked at the blade. At the first sight, it looked like a wooden sword, as there was no hand-guard and the hilt seemed to be made from the same material as the wooden blade and looked just like it. The only unusual thing was that the wood was pitch-black, but that may have been caused by the bad lighting. Then he realized that hilt and scabbard simply matched well and pulled on the hilt. The blade, just as black as the rest, slid out with a soft hiss, and Naruto was surprised at how natural it felt to wield it. It was as if the sword had been made for him. He heard Sasuke gasp and spun around, worried that a trap Madara had forgotten had sprung on his friend.

But Sasuke was physically fine, he was staring into a scroll. "What's wrong?" Naruto asked.

Sasuke pointed at the scroll. Naruto took a look. It was another scroll by Madara, but this one looked more like a diary or a personal notebook. Naruto read over it, catching parts like _Both I and Izuna were chosen by the great god S%a&f$..._ the rest of the line was smeared, or _While I use the black flames, Izuna opens the great whirlpool...,_ followed by a note of decreasing vision. Where was the shock?

_'Probably three lines down.'_ Madara replied dryly.

Naruto looked, and saw what had shocked Sasuke. It was a short note, mentioning that the effects of the brother's Mangekyo were similar, despite that they had been gained through different methods. Madara had accidentally killed his best friend, but Izuna had found another way to activate it. Unfortunately, the description of how Izuna had activated his Mangekyo without killing his best friend was also smeared and unreadable.

Before he had a chance to ask, Madara spoke again. _'Yes, I know what Izuna did to gain his Mangekyo, I was the one who wrote that, after all. No, I won't tell you yet. Right now, that knowledge will do the boy no good, and it might cause him to make some foolish decisions that may cost him his life. I will tell you when the time is right.'_

Naruto nodded to himself, then he looked at Sasuke. "Isn't that great? There is a way to get this Mangekyo, without killing! All we have to do is find it."

Sasuke blinked, then, slowly, a smile crawled up his face. "You're right Naruto. Shall we return to the surface, I could really use some fresh air about now."

Naruto nodded. "Sure. But maybe you should have a look around here too, to see if there's a weapon you like."

Sasuke nodded and for the first time, gave the weapons a good look. He went around, then he found something that seemed to call out to him. Eventually, he noticed a set of four identical daggers that seemed interesting to use. He grabbed the set and together, they left the hidden rooms, making sure to securely shut and hide the entrances. Afterwords, they decided to call it quits for the day. Both had many things to think about, and both had new tools they needed to familiarize with.

* * *

Naruto was training with his new sword. It really was pitch-black, the blade, the hilt and the scabbard. The blade just felt right in his hand, more like a extension of his arm rather than a separate object.

Madara spoke again. _'Naruto, we Guardians had a discussion while you trained, and we've made an important decision.'_

Naruto paused. 'I'm listening.'

Madara sighed. _'We have decided, and even Kyuubi agreed, albeit probably for different reasons... that it's time for you to make your first kill.'_

* * *

Chapter 7 is done. Not much to be said, I worked on it until I liked what I got, I hope you do too. And I have to say, I find that a bit cruel. 99 reviews, just one more and I would reach 3-digits. But, this chapter should solve that issue, so never mind.

The entire process with the forces took longer than I thought, but I think it was somewhat worth it. I've seen some people work with things like death, void or gravity, but they never really bothered to explain why it exists. Just thought I should mention this, if anyone wants to use one of my ideas, by all means, do so. Just do me two favors. Tell me, so I can check out your work, and please mention it was my idea. Thank you.

I got the idea with the forces when I saw what Pein did in Konoha. As I said, I'm a person that likes answers to questions, like: Why can Pein rip out someone's soul if he touches them? Why can he absorb chakra? Why can he manipulate gravity? Especially the last one was always good for a few questions. I saw that a few writers made gravity the sixth element, but I don't like that, as it upsets the delicate balance the five elements have. They're all weak and strong against one element, what is gravity's weakness? What is it strong against? No, I decided that gravity had to be something that wasn't an element, and I remembered the chakra-drain-techniques, and asked myself 'What could grant such a ability?' And my answer was that they made a chakra-vacuum of sorts, that sucked chakra out of their enemies, making a void of chakra, so to say. I also noticed some author's giving Nibi power over death, and since that matches with Japanese folklore, I thought why not? And to those who might wonder, in my fic, Hidan's immortality has something to do with Death-manipulation, but it's complicated. His ceremony is a shiton-curse, but its a specialized one that only Jashinists can use. Space came from seeing what Tobi did, and time was the logical conclusion for the last force. Unlike elements, forces aren't weaker or stronger than others by default, they're all equal.

I made Sasuke reveal his secret to Naruto for multiple reasons. One, I felt that it would cement their friendship, since I'm making a good Sasuke. Secondly, I wanted Naruto to get the sword, and I didn't want him to just break into his friend's compound and steal from him, even if Saskue would never notice.

And no, that sword is not a Zanpakuto. It has special abilities, but those don't change its actual shape.

The elementals were a new aspect that I brought into my story, as this world of mine will have many non-human beings. I haven't decided yet how big a role they'll play, but just like fiends and demons, they exist and may become great support, of a fun fight.

Since we're currently at the topic of fights, next chapter Naruto will make his first kill, followed by his first butt-kicking, handed out by a non-human whose clearly superior to him.

Now to reply to my reviews.

To Monsay: 1. You'll see. 2. I haven't decided yet, but he might make it. 3. Never actually thought of that, thanks for the idea. 4. Nope, she'll be a complete and useless fangirl until halfway into wave. 5. Actually, Kakashi will make an occasional effort to train them, and leave a lot of interesting training to Naruto, read Kyuubi's knowledge. 6. I'll get to that soon. I'll only say this much, she survived giving birth.

To Jouaint: Again, thanks for your idea, I'll probably mention at least one of them next chapter. As for Kisame, he will be one of the last to be redeemed, but he might come around in the end.

To 8chill: Thanks for the advice, I actually had planned to keep the harem, should I make one, at three or four members. Anything else makes it far too unrealistic, and would make most relationships shallow, at least when I work on it.

To Talonspike: 243?! You have got to be kidding. 80 is going to be tough to write, at least very time-consuming. My chapters for this story are supposed to have between 5000 and 7000 words each, so let's calculate with 6000. Multiply that with 80, and you have 480.000 words. Tough, but possible. Now multiply it with 243 instead, and you get 1.458.000 words. I haven't seen anyone on this site who wrote a million words or more, and if there is someone, he has my deepest respect, and doesn't have a life. I think epic would be an understatement, whoever writes that is working on the Neverending Story. I'm not sure if normal books have that many words, but my guess would be no. Still, thanks for your review, but I don't think that this will have over a million words. I'm not trying to insult you or anything, but I just don't think that first number I realistic.

To Lord Edric: First of all, thanks for reviewing my stories. And in your reviews, there are three mistakes. Actually, Sasori's heart is all that's left of his original boy, so he still has it. He doesn't have anything but his heart as far as flesh and organs go, but he has a heart. Also, Sasori didn't kill his parents, they were killed by Kakashi's father Sakumo. You were probably thinking of those puppets Chiyo used, but those were normal puppets that Sasori made so that they looked like his parents in the photo he had, because he was lonely.

I think that's all for now, so

Please Review


	8. First kill and Humbling

Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

"Speaking/SHOUTING"  
'Thinking'  
"_**Summon/bijuu"**_  
"**Hashirama"**  
"_Madara"_  
"Minato"  
"_Jutsu"_

* * *

Naruto swung his sword, cutting a rock in half. The training in swordplay and the _Juggernaut_-style was beginning to show results, despite the fact that Naruto could only focus his Qi in short bursts of strength. But he had done what Hashirama had said he needed to learn before they would have Naruto kill for the first time. The thought still terrified him, even though he didn't admit it. But now that he had the skills, it probably was time for it, Naruto understood that it would be bad if he froze up at a crucial time and was injured or killed because of it, or even worse, if his comrades would die because of it.

Hashirama and Madara had come to the conclusion that it would be best if the first kill would be low-to-no-risk, but since murdering the civilians, despite the fact that most would deserve it, was not an option, they had to take second-best. People who truly deserved to die, and were no match for Naruto. Bandits.

* * *

Taro sighed. He was not comfortable with being this close to a ninja village, no matter how much the other members assured him that they were absolutely safe. He loved being a bandit, but he had heard bad stories of what ninja could do to poor bandits like him. He decided to get his mind on other things, and what better way to get unpleasant thoughts out of his head than with a woman?

He gazed to his side, but apparently, the boss had decided he wanted another turn with their catch before it was finally his turn. Ginji Nimpinin was, true to his last name, a brute of a man. Built like a brick shithouse and easily reaching seven feet, he fought using a large club that could easily pass for a small tree. Taro only hoped that the man wouldn't take much longer, there was an itch in his pants that he wanted to have removed. Suddenly, Ginji screamed.

"YOU BITCH! HOW DARE YOU BITE ME?!" Before anyone could say anything, Their leader had grabbed his club and smashed it into the girl's face. There was a crunch, and what was left of the head was catapulted away from the now dead girl's shoulders. Taro groaned. And she had been just his type too, sixteen, curvy and blonde.

"Boss, what the fuck? I didn't get a go at her yet. Couldn't you have just punched out her teeth?" He said.

Ginji shrugged. "If you're aching for it that much, she's still warm."

Taro glared at his leader, but moved to the corpse. It was still better than simply jerking himself off.

SLTCH

He reached for his belt when he heard a weird noise. It sounded strange, almost like cutting a fruit. He turned around, and his eyes bulged.

Ginji was standing a few feet away, but it was more like he was leaning onto himself, as he'd been vertically cut in two. He shivered, and the two halfs slid away in opposite directions, revealing a short blonde kid with a pitch-black sword.

* * *

Naruto stood there. He had been filled with such rage when he had seen what that man had done that he hadn't even realized what he'd done. And what Hashirama had prophesied happened, he froze. That also fulfilled Madara's prophesy, as that single moment cost him. Three of the other four bandits had grabbed their spears and rammed them into his gut.

Naruto looked at them, his eyes devoid of any life, and swung his sword. Three heads rolled onto the ground, their bodies following them a second later, collapsing like puppets with cut strings.

The last man obviously thought that Naruto was heavily injured, as he pulled out his sword and charged at Naruto with a fierce battle-cry. Naruto reacted on instinct. He slashed the spears' long poles off, as there was no time to remove them, and jumped into the charging man while thrusting his sword forward. All motion stopped.

Naruto and his opponent were so close that the boy's head was nearly toughing the man's chest. The hilt of the black sword was next to the boy's head, right were the man's heart was. The blade was sticking out of said man's back. The man slumped together on Naruto and the boy could clearly hear his heart.

POCK POCK, POCK POCK.

POCK POCK, POck pock.

pock pock, pock... pock.

pock...pock..., pock........pock.

pock...

…

…

…

Silence. Naruto shuddered. He stepped to the side, and the corpse slid off his blade. Naruto pulled the spear-tips out of his gut, Kyuubi healing him while muttering something about_** stupid **_and _**freezing up at the worst possible time,**_ before looking around, seeing all the death. Then he turned around, and emptied his stomach into the vegetation.

* * *

Naruto was dry-heaving by now, having long since parted with everything his stomach contained. He felt horrible. Not so much about the first man, he hadn't seen that much of him, just a surprised look, but about the other four. He remembered the terror etched into their faces when he had lifted his sword to take their heads, the hopelessness in their eyes when they realized they couldn't get back in time to save themselves, and the pain and fear when their heads separated from their bodies. And worst of all, he remembered the last man's expression, his fear of the being that had easily killed men that by all logic should have torn him to shreds, his hope of taking him down to save his life, his anger at the death of his partners, the surprise and pain Naruto had seen when his sword entered the man's heart, and hearing that heartbeat getting weaker and weaker, until it had completely stopped. He had felt that final shudder going through the man as his life came to an end, and how he had gone limp. In short, Naruto felt miserable. He could feel that something inside of him had just died.

"I killed them." he muttered to himself. "They were no match for me, and I slaughtered them. I took their lives, it was like blowing out candles. That wasn't a fight, that was a massacre. I'm a murderer."

Minato tried to talk to him. "Naruto, I know this is hard for you, hell, after my first kill, I locked myself up in my room for a week, but you have to see it in a different way. Of course these men were no challenge, that's why we chose them. But you saw them. They kidnapped a young woman, almost still a girl, raped her and killed her, and that one man was going to further desecrate her corpse. And I'm sure that wasn't the first time they did that, they looked like it was routine to them. If you hadn't killed them, they would have destroyed even more innocent women. Sometimes, you have to do a small evil to prevent an even larger evil, such is the nature of shinobi. What we do is occasionally very dirty, but someone has to do it."

Naruto sniffed. "Is it okay if I still feel bad?"

Hashirama snorted. **"Naruto, we'd start to worry if you didn't. Killing is a vile thing, so finding joy in murdering your fellow humans is always wrong, it would take a sick, twisted person to enjoy killing."**

"_**Or a demon. Killing humans is nothing special for a demon, it's pretty much the same as when humans kill insects because they're annoying, or simply in the way."**_ Kyuubi spoke up.

Madara sighed. _"As a shinobi, you will eventually harden up against the killing. The sense of guilt will dull, but it usually never goes away. I know it's a little late, but there is a saying that you should never look someone in the eye the moment he dies by your hand, or he may haunt you forever. Killing is something you will do, and there is nothing wrong with ending people who deserve to die. Personally, I like to think of it as a deal. By killing one person, you may save ten others. You kill ten, you save a hundred. You kill a hundred, you save a thousand. Kill a thousand, and a million people may live happy lives. Of course, you have to judge if a person truly deserves to die before making such a decision. It may happen that a person did something wrong, but had honorable reasons for his actions, or that a man that seems harmless is making thousands suffer. Killing his not something that should be done without a thought, unless you're at war, then your goal is to kill them before they can kill anyone you cherish, and that is also the reason they fight. Well, there are a few deeply disturbed people, but that's a different story."_

Strangely, Naruto actually felt a little better. He turned to the gruesome scene, gulped and did the only thing he could think of, he buried the girl beneath a tree while a few dozen shadow-clones pulled the other carcasses away and threw them into a nearby river. Once he was done, he looked at the tree that now held the poor girl's body. "I'm sorry, I don't even know your name, or if you have family. I hope you can rest in peace, your tormentors are no more, and they won't rest on your clearing." He looked at the tree, and decided that it wasn't right to just leave the girl like that, to be forgotten. He carved a few final words for the girl into the tree, giving a short prayer for her soul and to apologize to Kimori for carving into the tree. The tree now sported the inscription _Here lies a young woman, taken long before her time. She was proud, resisted until the very end and died standing tall, unbroken. May she never be forgotten._ Two things happened.

A warm wind blew through the clearing, and Naruto suddenly felt grateful. But it was not something he felt by himself, but another gratefulness directed at him.

And secondly, the tree that he had carved into changed. His carvings became curvy writing that sunk in a bit, looking both expertly made yet naturally grown, and a new engraving appeared. It was not writing, but instead it formed a picture. It was the girl's face, head and shoulders. But here, she wasn't broken and and defiant, instead she gave a bright smile. It looked like one was standing to her left, ans she was turning her head to look at you while giving you a beautiful smile. Naruto knew that Kimori had for some reason decided to make sure that this woman wouldn't be forgotten.

Kyuubi shrugged. _**"That will probably never wither away. But it's not like the tree didn't get anything out of it. The dead make excellent fertilizer. Before you rethink your decision to bury her, consider this: Her soul is in a better place, and her mortal shell will become one with the tree, and by extension the forest."**_

Naruto decided that that was a good thing, said a final prayer for the unknown girl who would now share her smile with all who saw her.

* * *

After that first kill, Naruto proceeded to wipe out a few other groups of bandits and even low-ranked Nuke-nin, and what Madara had said was true, the overwhelming sense of guilt slowly dulled, and ever since his encounter with the sharp ends of three spears, he never froze up again. In fact, after much internal debate, he had brought Sasuke along for one of his bandit-hunts, so that he would be able to cope better with his later pressure. Sasuke's initial reaction had been the same as Naruto's, throwing up until his stomach could give no more, but after a bit of cheering up from Naruto, Sasuke actually coped better with the experience than Naruto originally had and occasionally accompanied him on his hunts for C- and low B-ranked Nuke-nin. The two B-ranked ones had been tough fights, but with their teamwork, they had actually managed to surprise them enough to win. Naruto had shown him to a place that he now considered sacred, the final resting-place of the girl whose name he never learned. Sasuke was very quiet after hearing the story, and silently paid his respects.

Their training was also improving on a near-stellar level. Sasuke had practically mastered Fire-manipulation, though he was still lacking a sufficient number of jutsu, and had started on his Lightning-training, getting some advice from the Hokage and Kakashi Hatake, who had given them a scroll on the basics and left, nose buried in a little orange book. Naruto meanwhile had mastered Wind, and had started working on Earth, since he already had three jutsu, since Hashirama had taught him the _Tsuchi-bunshin no Jutsu_, which he used to improve his and Sasuke's strength and precision, as these things needed to be hit with a fair bit of force, or in a clearly fatal spot, in order to break. In masses, they were great for training. But Naruto had started to notice something about himself that worried him. He was starting to get cocky. He knew he could take most chunin, with the annoying exception of Iruka who had to have some sort of magical power, as he managed to catch him easily when jonin failed to do so. There was nobody in his generation that he knew of that could give him a challenge. The Hyuuga may qualify, but since he was even more flexible than them, he had a fairly easy time dodging them. As all Guardians had told him, the secret to beat a Hyuuga, any Hyuuga, was very simple. All he had to do was to not get hit. The Hyuuga were ridiculously powerful in their specialized field, close combat, but beside that, they drew blanks, maybe a few kunai and shuriken, but nothing to really worry about.

So Naruto did something that if he had told anyone beforehand, they would have declared him mentally unstable for. He sought out a truly strong opponent. An opponent that would probably pound him into the dirt, just so that Naruto could finally see where his limits were. The one he had found lived a few days of shinobi-travel away from him, at the very end of Hi no Kuni, bordering on Taki. If things got too bad, he could always make a run for it.

He was faster than most jonin, unless they were masters of physical exercises, like that creepy guy with the bowl-cut in the green suit, who had seen him run away from the scene of a very creative prank involving a pack of stink-bombs, a hive of live wasps and a restaurant filled with 'demon-haters'. The man had kept his pace, shouting out something about him being youthful to run like that, and that if he couldn't keep up with this kid who was burning with the flames of youth so that he'd fan them even brighter, he'd run five-hundred laps around Konoha on his hands while juggling three boulders with his feet. Naruto had tried to get away, but the weird guy who actually claimed that his name was Might Guy had easily matched his speed step by step and claimed that Naruto was getting more youthful by the minute. Naruto had at that very moment decided that he'd work on his speed, even if it killed him. Eventually, Naruto had, by sheer coincident, run into Kakashi. Guy had stopped, shouted something about reading unyouthful books in public and challenging him. Naruto had used the distraction to run for the hills.

But he had eventually found an opponent that would make him use all he had, and more. It was a vampire, a devil that could be classified into different categories. Humans turned by vampires were turned into low-class devils, so called Servients, who could with enough time, training and blood ascend to mid-class devils independent from their makers. These creatures had many weaknesses, like garlic, water and sunlight, which burned them to ashes. Children born from a true vampire and a human were mid-class devils, sometimes referred to as Dhampirs, but could easily raise to high-class devils, like their parents. They gained the strength of their vampire-parent, while gaining the immunity to sunlight and other things from their human parent. True vampires, so-called purebloods, were the pinnacle of vampiric evolution. Born as high-class devils and immune to the passage of time as well as almost anything else, as they eventually conquered their weaknesses to the point where they practically didn't exist anymore.

The true vampires only grew stronger the longer they lived, and the first vampire, Dracula, had actually become so powerful that he was one of Hell's Princes. Hell was the realm of the devils, the Underworld belonged to the fiends and Makai was where the demons resided. The souls of sinners were sent to a different dimension, called hell by mortals, but to those who knew better, it was known as Tartarus, a world of suffering divided into nine rings and one ethereal realm where the Shinigami resided.

Naruto would be facing a true vampire, and a very old one too. He didn't know what to expect, but he was excited. Had he known just who he was about to be messing with, he probably would have been worried instead.

* * *

In her castle, or ruins of a castle, Maria was getting bored. She was lazing on her throne, looking into the open garden whose plants had eventually torn down the frontal wall of the castle, making the room she was residing in more open than humans would have liked. Maria didn't care. As a vampire, she didn't get cold, she didn't get sick and she didn't breathe, so there was little reason for her not to face the weather, especially since she could control it. The only visitors she received were a few vampire-hunters who tried to kill her. With time, she had gained immunity to almost everything, only the strongest of holy objects or the most excellent of blades could harm her. It was sad to see really, as most of the men who tried to kill her brought worthless junk they claimed was sacred, without even knowing what the word meant. Excellent blades, while surprisingly numerous in these countries, were also a rare find amongst those who came to claim her head. Honestly, most who came were a disappointment, not even their blood was any good.

And now she could sense another one. This one was much better than what she usually got, he hid his presence perfectly, an ordinary human would have never noticed him. But she was no ordinary human. Another strange thing was that he seemed to observe, instead of trying to ambush her. She had given a few 'openings', but he never took them. She yawned and opened her eyes. "Come out." she said.

A light rustling, and a young boy steeped into her field of vision. He seemed hardly ten, a unruly mop of blonde hair framing a face with six whisker-like marks and sky-blue eyes. Maria raised a brow. "The hunters are getting younger and younger. Aren't they?" She looked at the sword at his side, and pleasant shivers ran down her spine. That was not one of those worthless lumps of metal, that was a true masterpiece of a blade. She could feel the swords spirit, a solemn one, how rare, and knew that that sword could leave some marks on her. "At least you're properly equipped."

The boy blinked.

* * *

Naruto blinked in confusion. What was this woman talking about? He was about to make a blunt comment, when Kyuubi spoke.

"_**Before you do something stupid I'd like to remind you that while this beauty looks like she's barely twenty, she is centuries, if not millenniums old and ridiculously powerful. And she is a pureblood vampire, these people don't like it if people are disrespectful to them. Be polite if you like your head. The chances we'll survive this are slim anyway, so whatever you do, don't provoke her."**_

Naruto glanced at her. This pretty neechan was supposed to be that dangerous? She wasn't even dressed for combat, as she was wearing a black dress with a long skirt that reached the floor and lots of frills, especially at the sleeves. The dress was cut so that a generous portion of her ample cleavage was visible. Her face was heart-shaped, slitted green irises framed by black scleras with long eyelashes glanced interested between her long black hair hair that flowed down her hourglass-body until it reached the lowest part of her back. Her skin was so pale that it was as white as snow, her red lips curved into an open smile, revealing sparkling white teeth, with two being longer than the others and razor-sharp. But if Kyuubi said the woman was dangerous, then she most likely was. Naruto quickly reordered the words he wanted to say. "Um, excuse me, what are you talking about?"

The woman tilted her head. "Are you not here for my head, like all the other fools?"

Naruto shook his head. "No. my name is Naruto Uzumaki, I come from Konoha."

The woman frowned. "Konoha? Konoha... ah, I remember. There was a village that trained humans to fight more effectively in this country. Since you introduced yourself so politely, I'll give you my name. I am Maria. Why have you come, Naruto Uzumaki of Konoha?"

Naruto looked at the ground. "In my village, there is no one who is willing to train and fight me that is strong enough to push me to my limits. Amongst those I know, there is nobody who matches me. I am afraid."

Maira raised a brow. "Afraid?"

Naruto nodded. "Yes. I'm afraid of my own arrogance, I'm afraid that I will drown in my delusions of power simply because there's no one who can pull me back to reality."

Maria looked at him. "And so you come to me, a being that is far beyond your power, in hopes that I will humble you? Are you not afraid to die?"

Naruto looked at her. "I have faced death far too often to be afraid. Besides that, I'm pretty hard to kill. My village has been trying ever since I was born and I'm still around. And I'm pretty fast, so I guess I'll just run away if things get bad."

Maria chuckled. "Well, aren't you an honest one? But fine, I'll play with you." She stood up and stretched.

Naruto blinked. "Are you sure you want to fight in those clothes? They look like they hinder movement."

Maria looked at him. "Aren't you going to draw your sword?"

Naruto looked at her. "But you're unarmed!"

Maria tilted her head. "You're adorable. But against me, you'll need everything you have." She looked at him. 'Those whisker-marks really do make him look cute. I just want to eat him up.' She licked her lips. 'Then I'll get the remains back to good looks, preserve them and hang them on my wall. Or I turn him when I'm done and keep him as a pet. Decisions, decisions. But now lets play a bit.'

She dashed at him, left leg raised into an ax-kick. Naruto's eyes widened and he jumped to the side. Just in time too. Maria's foot came crashing down on the floor, forming a crater the size of a hippo. Without wasting a single second, Maria dashed at him again, her fist pulled back. Naruto caught her fist, and winced. Even with his Qi strengthening him, the woman packed a punch. Maria raised a blow. "I'm impressed."

Naruto smiled. "Thank you." With that, he slammed his free fist into her stomach. Maria grunted and skid back a few feet before she came to a halt. As soon as she had stopped, she catapulted herself at him, her hand forming a claw this time. Naruto pumped chakra to his feet and shot back, but one of her fingers still caught his cheek and left a gash.

Maria raised her bloody fingers to her face. "Looks like first blood goes to me." Her tongue shot out of her mouth and licked the blood of her finger. Naruto noticed the tongue was a little longer and a lot more nimble than a human's. Maria shuddered in joy. "And what a blood! Delicious. I haven't tasted anything so sweet in a long time. The sweetest taste of the unripe fruit. But why does it have a light demonic flavor?" She noticed that the gash she had made in Naruto's cheek had almost completely healed. "I see. You have a demon sealed inside of you, don't you?"

Naruto hesitantly nodded. "Yes, the Kyuubi."

Maria's eyes widened slightly. "The strongest bijuu and one of the two who never lost their title ever since the bijuu were created. I remember it as if it were yesterday, I actually fought in the battle that led to the creation of that gods-given title." Her eyes had taken on a faraway look, lost in the past. Then she smiled. "But now that I know that you're a jinchuuriki," Naruto suddenly got a sinking feeling in his gut "I don't have to hold back so much."

She had barely finished her words when she vanished, and Naruto dropped to the floor to avoid a swing that had a good chance to take his head. He quickly flashed through a number of hand-seals, before smashing his palms onto the ground. "_Doton: Doryūsō!_" A number of spears shot out of the ground, forcing Maria into a temporary retreat.

Naruto used this short break to catch a breath, and to draw a few kunai. He didn't want to use his sword, not that it would do him much good since he still lacked the necessary skill with it, but that woman had razorblades on her fingers. And speak of the devil, she was dashing at him again, fingers stretched to claw him again. Naruto used the kunai to block, and was shocked when he saw Maria's nails sinking into the metal before finally coming to a stop.

Maria looked at the punctured blades. "I don't know who sold you those, but they cheated you. My nails are penetrating twice as deep as they should. There are blades like yours that can completely block me, but these obviously aren't.."

"Shit!" Naruto cursed, before letting go of the blades and slamming both hands into her midsection.

Maria hadn't expected the hit and flew back, before rolling midair and skidding to a halt. She touched her left breast. "Tse tse tse, naughty little fingers."

Naruto blushed bright red. Apparently, one of his hands had hit a little higher than he had intended. "S-s-sorry! It wasn't on purpose!"

Maria smiled. He was fun to tease. For the first time in a while, she was enjoying herself. Her blood was pumping, a sizzling feeling going through her body. She couldn't tell what she wanted to do more right now, sink her teeth into his neck and suck him dry, or drag this fight out and milk this for all it was worth. She was throwing up a barrage of kicks and punches, and was openly grinning as the boy turned and twisted his body like an eel to avoid them, and despite the fact that he was obviously hard-pressed to do so, he managed to avoid her strikes and even managed to give a hard counter once in a while. Not often, but more often than she had expected.

Another thing she noticed with joy was that the boy actually improved on a rate that while she would have doubtlessly ground the boy into powder had she started attacking the way she was now, the boy had gotten used to this for human standards ridiculous pace. His healing also reached a new peak, as he at one point blocked one of her kicks with both arms, at which point they'd snapped, only to hiss in pain, shake them and continue, the bones mended when they had aligned for a second.

But she also realized that it was taking its toll on the boy. His breathing had started to get ragged, and he used more of his nature-control or jutsu or whatever it was called to give him short breathers. His recovery-speed was also baffling, as ten seconds gave him back the strength he had lost in the last minute, which at their pace was nothing short of a miracle. But, she didn't give him those ten seconds, and he rarely manged to hold her off for that long. At one point, he had again started to form handsigns, and she had taught him an important lesson. In real life, people don't wait till you're done. She had ripped off his middle- and index-fingers, to see in fascination how youki seeped out of the wounds and regenerated the fingers. Granted, it took half a minute, and she had given him some space by only using her feet to attack him, her hands holding the boy's fingers while she put the ripped end in her mouth and sucked them dry of blood. She was in heaven.

Naruto turned slightly green when he saw the girl putting his former fingers in her mouth and sucked them dry, which he could see since the skin was getting closer and closer to the bone, while giving short moans of pleasure. Of course, right now he was focusing on her legs, since they restlessly shot at him, each with enough force to uproot a medium-sized tree.

It was getting increasingly difficult to permanently focus his Qi so that he didn't snap like a twig under her assault. How could so much strength be packed in such a thin frame? He drew another pair of kunai, despite their ineffectiveness. Maria had just finished with his last finger and started using her arms again, making things really difficult when Naruto saw an opening. Though it was more like he saw where a opening would be in a second. In a display of flexibility that would make anyone who watched it swear that the boy had no bones in his back, Naruto ducked under a kick, slid in the space between her still stretched leg and her arms and gave a single strike at her face. Maria tried to dodge, but she still gained shallow cut on her cheekbone.

Naruto gulped. The women he knew always got really pissed if there was a scratch on their faces, and started beating on him even if he hadn't caused it. But Maria simply opened her mouth, that long, agile tongue sliding out and licking up the trickle of blood, the cut slowly closing. She smiled. "It's been a long time since I tasted my own blood." Naruto chuckled nervously. "Don't be so nervous, it was a compliment. I'm not gonna eat you. Yet."

A shiver ran down Naruto's spine. He immediately regretted having taken his focus away from Maria, as said vampire suddenly appeared in front of him, giving him a jaw-shattering rising-kick which sent him flying backwards. His jaw healed almost instantly and even while he was flying, he started forming handseals for his currently strongest elemental jutsu, a B-rank fuuton, since he saw that Maria had jumped. He had nearly finished when she came shooting towards him from above, fist pulled back to give a punch that would shatter him and a good part of the castle. She was coming down like a bird of prey descending on his victim, and Naruto was getting close to a panic. This would be close, really close. He managed to finish.

"_Fuuton: Kirukaze no Jutsu!_" Naruto shouted and clapped his hands together, Maria hardly a foot away from his fingertips. Her descend was brought to an abrupt stop as hurricane-like winds erupted between her and Naruto. She raised her hands and curled together, in order to give the winds as little room to attack as possible.

She was blown away from Naruto and crashed into a wall. When she stood up again, she noticed two things. One, she had small cuts all over her body. Two, her dress was ruined. It was little more than a few pieces of cloth that barely covered anything. Her long legs and well-toned stomach were now bare, along with most of her cleavage. The sleeves were completely gone, her long skirt was now so short that her panties were in plain sight. The fabric on her right shoulder had miraculously survived, forming what could now best be described as the strap on a bikini-top. From it, a loose piece of cloth barely covered her nipple and went around her chest, covering the other nipple, although her left shoulder was bare. Naruto was sporting a strangely confused expression, as if he was wondering why the woman he fought suddenly had a lot more skin.

Maria looked down at herself with raised brows. "So that's what all this was about? You know, you could have just asked."

Naruto blinked in confusion, then it dawned on him what she meant. He raised his hands in defense. "Nonono, it was an accident, I swear! I'm not a pervert!"

Suddenly, her lips were very close to his ear. She whispered a single word. "Gotcha." Then she buried her fist into Naruto's stomach. For a single instant, Naruto remained at the same position, although he was willing to swear that every vertebra in his spine was suddenly an inch away from its nearest partner as he spat blood. Then he shot away from Maria like a a fired bullet, crashing through two walls and three pillars before coming to a halt halfway inside of the outer castle-wall.

On first glance, he seemed to be sitting on the edge of the crater his impact had caused in the wall, but a second glance revealed he had collapsed and the delicate balance simply hadn't tilted yet. When Maria appeared, he dropped to the floor, and a great number of rock-fragments could be seen sticking out of his back. Maria watched in interest as the fragments, some as long as a a dagger, were pushed out of his back before the wounds closed. Twenty more seconds and Naruto's lungs and internals had healed enough for him to moan. After thirteen more seconds, he tried to stand up. Another five seconds later, he succeeded. Maria smiled at him.

"Wow, that healing is really something. That was almost 80% of my full strength, and you're not mush." she chirped happily, giving him a few more seconds to gather his bearings before they continued. One thing she had started to really like about the kid was that no matter how hard she hit, he always came back for more. And considering he couldn't be older than nine or ten, he was amazing. Maria wondered what would happen when he grew up.

Her thoughts were rudely interrupted by what appeared to be an arrow sticking out of her chest. Annoyed, she turned around to see three ugly, middle-aged people standing there, grinning smugly.

One was a muscular red-head with an filthy hair and a mixture of sweat and dirt of all kinds covering him. He was wielding a large sword that, as she was able to tell when she focused really hard, had a faint sacred aura. But it was so weak that not even a Servient would be worried about it, much less a no-life queen as herself.

The second one looked like the result of mixing a priest with large amounts of heavy liquors over an extended period of time, utterly pathetic. He probably had blessed the weapons the group was using himself, hence their incredible patheticness.

The last one was, relatively speaking, the best-looking one in the bunch. Not exactly a looker, but he seemed to take as least some care of himself. He was wielding a crossbow and a set of arrows that looked eerily similar to the one in her chest.

All three were shouting something about cleansing the world, filth and other thing that every amateur vampire-slayer-wannabe usually spouted off.

Since she had just remembered the object in her chest, she turned her lower body to mist and the better stick dropped to the floor as she reformed herself and broke it beneath her foot.

The laughter died instantly while the men seemed to organize. The muscular one jumped forward and ran towards Maria, whose expression darkened by the second.

Naruto was looking at the entire scene, almost recovered enough to be able to save his skin, whether by a bit more fighting or a hasty escape. That last punch had liquified his internals, and that wasn't even 80% of her strength? She was clearly superior to himself. Then he heard Kyuubi.

"_**She was playing with you. You were never even a challenge, she could have killed you in a heartbeat. The best proof is that she fought you with punches, kicks and throws. That is not how a vampire normally fights. While they have the physical ability to do what she just did, a vampire normally would never degrade him- or herself to such a way of fighting. If they do it personal, they usually fight with a weapon like a rapier or a whip, not bare-handed. A vampire has power over lesser beings, and usually a small army of familiars. They wouldn't fight personally unless all their servants were dead or they received a direct challenge to a duel. Also, vampires have incredible mental powers, as you're about to witness. Watch carefully Naruto, you're about to see how a true vampire, a no-life queen even, takes care of annoyances."**_

Maria looked at the savage that was storming at her. She sighed. "And I was having so much fun." Then she pointed at the man with her left index-finger. She spoke again. "_A.T.B. Break_"

The man suddenly stumbled and screamed, as his entire body seemed to move in directions it wasn't supposed to. His fingers were bending backwards, almost forming a fist on the back of his hand. His arms, his legs, everything twisted and snapped with a series of sickening crunches. The man collapsed as his head caved in, as if squashed by a giant.

Naruto shuddered. 'Was that Telekinesis?' he asked.

The answer was a shock. _**"No, that was mind-control."**_

Naruto blinked. 'Mind-control? How was that mind-control?'

Kyuubi seemed only too happy to explain._** "Simple. She controlled all muscles in his body, and ordered them to expand, contract, and twist in a way that goes against what the skeletal structure allows, which was why his bones snapped. As an added bonus, she removed the limits from his muscles. The human body usually limits the force that can be exerted by the muscles, because they would take damage if any more strength was used. Now, in extreme situations, the brain can override those safety-features, giving the body a short burst of superhuman strength. That's how the civilian mother can lift a tree if her children are stuck beneath it. Maria want even further, opening the man's gates. That man's muscles probably had the strength of Maria's 80% punch, and that force was used against the bones. Even the man's facial muscles were strong enough to crush the skull, hence the caving of the man's head. What is she doing now?"**_

The two remaining men had tried to escape. Maria had raised a hand a large part of the ground rose, blocking the path for the man with the crossbow. The priest gave a short glance, then he continued running. Maria waved her hand, and the man with the crossbow flew into the air and started floating above Maria. She ignored him and snipped her fingers. Suddenly, a number of figures started to form out of the shadows. Maria looked at them. "Bring me the one that ran away, alive."

The creatures nodded and swarmed. Some were winged like giant bats and crows, others resembled oversized wolves while others looked like primates of sorts. As they swarmed to get the priest, Maria turned her attention to the floating man. She frowned at him. "I was having fun, and you interrupted it. You ruined my good mood." she accused him.

Them man shuddered. His voice was desperate. "I'm sorry. Please forgive me, it won't happen again."

Maria gave him a cold look. "No, it won't."

The man suddenly felt that he was in an invisible box. What truly alarmed him was that the box was shrinking. He drummed against the invisible walls, but it was no use. "No. No, please no. Please, let me go, I don't want to die! Please, let me out! No! NO! NO! NOOO! AAAAAAHH..." CRCK. Silence.

Naruto shuddered in horror. _**"**__**That**__** was Telekinesis."**_ Kyuubi stated. _**"Oh look, there's the last one."**_

Naruto gulped and turned his head away from the floating remains to see the priest being dragged by one of the ape-like creatures. Said creature tossed him in front of the feet of his mistress, bowed and vanished in the shadows. The priest was staring at the squashed remains in horror. Maria looked up, and suddenly a thin line of blood came from the square box. Maria opened her mouth, and the blood flowed in. She seemed to think about the blood, then she swallowed. "A little bland, but drinkable." She noticed that the priest had slumped together and was muttering something. She strained her ears a bit to hear his words.

"E nomine padres, et filie, et spirutus sancti. Our father who resides in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will..."

Maria laughed. "Are you praying? God is not here today priest. And he will have nothing to do with you anyway. Your fate is sealed. Your soul will suffer in the lowest circle of Tartarus, reserved for traitors. And how you abandoned your comrade, I'd say you're a traitor. Nobody will remember you, nobody but those who are present will even know you exist." She looked up. "His blood would make me barf. You can have him, do not leave a single bone."

She turned and walked away as legions of rats swarmed out of every corner while swarms of ravens and crows descended on the man. Within seconds, you couldn't see him anymore. But you could hear him. "HELP! SOMEBODY! ANYBODY! OH GO-AAAAHH! RAAAGH! GWAA...argh..."

Naruto shuddered. That had been brutal on a whole new level. Maria looked at him, her eyes softer. "Ah, you poor baby. That wasn't something you were supposed to see. But still, I think as for humbling, this day has served his purpose. But why didn't you run away?"

Naruto looked at her. "What would be the point? You would get me with your Telekinesis before I managed to do four steps. And I can't hide beneath the earth either, since you'd get me there."

Maria smiled. "Such a smart little boy. Tell you what." A wine-glass floated through the air while she grabbed his wrist and with a single motion, cut open his arteries. The blood flowed into the glass until it was almost full, since Kyuubi had healed his arm. Maria smiled. "I'll keep this for later and you can go. Grow strong Naruto, I'm looking forward to seeing and fighting you when you reached your potential. While this unripe fruit is the sweetest I've tasted, I'd love to taste it once it's ripe. We'll have a lot of fun with each other, you and me. But for now," she poked his nose "it's time for you to go."

Naruto nodded, politely bowed and vanished. His goal had been achieved, he had been humbled. He had felt helpless when he saw Maria get serious, he truly understood that she could have squashed him like a bug if she desired. While some people may find it humiliating to be beaten by a woman, Naruto didn't care. He had fought a vastly superior opponent, and he had managed to draw blood. He would get stronger, and some day he'd be able to face her, as an equal. That had become one of Naruto's goals. His father took over his body and used some of the last chakra Naruto had in him to _hiraishin_ them back to Naruto's apartment, where they had left an inconspicuous seal in a secret spot that would allow them a safe journey back. Naruto had honestly forgotten about it, although Kyuubi said that was good, because Maria might have come to hunt for him if he had simply vanished without her permission, and since he'd already said he was from Konoha, finding him would have been easy. But for now, he needed rest. Naruto dropped onto the bed and fell into a dreamless slumber.

* * *

Chapter 8 is done. Took me a while, but I made it. I covered what I promised, and I think it's not bad.

I chose bandits for the first kill because I really don't think that Naruto's father and the other Guardians would have chosen anyone who could actually endanger his life, so your typical bandit was the best solution.

As for Maria, I simply thought that for most, being beaten by a woman is a lot more humiliating than being beaten by a man, even though Naruto isn't one of them. I made those vampire-hunters appear because I wanted to make it clear just how much Maria outclassed Naruto. After all, surviving a 80%-punch shows that physically, Qi-Naruto is getting close to her level, even though she's still much stronger. So I wanted to show that if she wanted to, she could have instantly killed Naruto. Also, she's much more skilled with a weapon than she is barehanded. Also, she used a fraction of her mental power to shield herself from Naruto's attack, but she underestimated it, hence the number of small cuts she received.

If people are wondering why no ninja bothered her, she's not stupid. Whenever someone with a headband approaches, she hypnotizes them so that they think all they saw was an empty castle before returning. Maria's hypnosis is so strong that not even mental-experts like the Yamanaka would be able to tell that the thoughts had been tempered with. I'm not sure how big a role Maria will play in the future, I'll see what my readers think before I make a decision.

And I know that Lee would give Naruto a run for his money, but he didn't become the taijutsu-expert he was until after he graduated, which has not happened yet in this fic.

Now for the jutsu.

_Fuuton: Kirukaze no Jutsu_ (Wind Release: Cutting Wind Technique)  
Rank: B  
Range: Short (0-5m), Middle (5-10m), Long (10+)  
Type: Offensive  
This jutsu released hurricane-force winds that are laced with wind-blades in a ratio similar to the water-air-ratio in a monsoon. Each blade is strong enough to cut through solid rock, giving the attack enormous offensive capabilities. With enough chakra, this jutsu could theoretically level a mountain or cut steel.

_A.T.B. Break_  
Rank: -  
Range:Short (0-5m), Middle (5-10m), Long (10+)  
Type: Offensive  
The full name of the attack is _All The Body Break_ (name borrowed from the manga Zero). It is not a jutsu, but the epitome of mind-control, forcing the body to self-destruct by using the muscles to break every bone in the victim's body while using the bones as weapons. For example, the ribs will skewer the lungs, heart and intestines. The level of mental power required to successfully utilize this technique has never been achieved by a human to date.

The only questions I would like answered right now would be how you liked Maria, and if the battle-scene was any good.

Now to my reviewers. By the way, it might be good for those who the reply isn't directed at to read the replies, as I usually give additional explanations or small previews in them.

To Raidentensho: Funny you should mention trench-knives, as I was actually planning on giving Naruto something like that for close-combat. His sword will be something he only draws against those he has to, or those that deserve to die. As for physical and mental, the focus needed will indirectly help in Sage-training, as he'll already know how to focus on something, but they mainly serve as indicators what is their dominant non-element, non-force affinity. It also shows what branch they will learn easier. Ino has a mental affinity, Lee has a physical-affinity, just to give examples.

To deltabeta26: Yes, Time allows you to move faster than others, but not by slowing down the universe's time, no mortal could do that, but by speeding up your own time, not that it makes any difference in the end. It also allows you ta rapidly age something, perhaps until it crumbles to dust. Of course, you can also reverse the effect, making things younger, though that's more advanced and much harder. It also allows those who are proficient with it to **look** into the past, time-travel is a blasphemy against the gods and will result in one's complete destruction. True masters can even glimpse into the future, though most of the times, what you see is vague and changeable. Certain non-humans can master it to a greater degree and have clearer visions that are more likely to happen. As for Space, it of course is good for teleportation or looking at faraway places, but it has uses in combat. It allows you to change the path of projectiles and even human bodies by bending space, open warp-holes that allow attacks from any direction and its strongest and most dangerous attack, cutting space. Also called the ultimate sword, since even a slight dislocation when mending it, and I'm talking millionth of a micrometer dislocation, causes everything that was within the cut space to fall apart as if cut by a invisible blade. That one takes a lot of focus and a lot more chakra.

To cathy: Merci beaucoup. Mais mon français est terrible, je préfère les langues anglais ou allemand.

To Tony870620: Don't worry, as I said before, Sasuke will still be silent and act like a asshole, just not to Naruto. As for pairing, I haven't decided decided on any pairings yet, so maybe it'll happen.

To Monsay: 1. She'll start of shy, but she'll improve with time. 2. He'll be the best in taijutsu, but he'll suck at studying.

To The Fanfic Stealer: Yeah, she'll live if I write another fic, but in this one, it's a little late to change her personality that much. I already depicted her as more understanding as the rest of the clan, as she accepted Itachi's reasoning and asked for Sasuke's life instead of her own. And my own opinion, in literature and fiction altogether, sometimes it's better to die with dignity than to live through pity. In real life, my opinion may differ towards living is good, unless tortured.

To Rin'negan Naruto: Yes, Sasuke will have have a Force-affinity, so will Sakura. After all, she's supposed to make herself useful in this fic.

To Jouaint: I might add angels and archangels, as they would simply be inhabitants of another dimension. I already described a few more dimensions in this chapter. By the way, did you find the Prince of Hell I promised to mention?

To... all that ask about pairings really: I haven't decided yet, but I'm open for suggestions.

To Drift88: Yakumo I'll consider. But I have some plans for Kin, and if I decide to go through with them, she'll be in a pairing that I'm fairly certain I'm the first to use.

To Lord Edric: The parents were the first puppets he ever made, but they were normal puppets. Chiyo brought Sasori into her workshop and told him to make whatever he wanted, and a few days later, Sasori was in his room, his parent-puppets to his sides. Don't you think Chiyo, who would probably have noticed if the corpse of her son and daughter-in-law were to suddenly disappear from the morgue, would be slightly disturbed if a five-to-eight year old would be digging in his parents' innards to stuff them with wood and turn into puppets? Trust me, those were normal puppets. And your Tora-idea was funny, but Naruto doesn't know the cat good enough yet, so there are no feelings of murder at the present time.

I think I said enough for now, so it's your turn

Please Review


	9. Aftermath and Graduation

Chapter 9

"Speaking/SHOUTING"  
'Thinking'  
"_**Summon/bijuu"**_  
"**Hashirama"**  
"_Madara"_  
"Minato"  
"_Jutsu"_

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

* * *

The next day was a torture for Naruto. He was sore. For the first time in his life, he was sore. Every muscle burned like fire when he tried to move them. He dragged himself to the academy that he and Sasuke had recently joined and slumped together on his seat.

When Sasuke saw him, he whistled. "You look like something chewed you through and spat you back out."

Naruto looked up. "Really? It can't be that bad then, because I feel like someone chewed me through, spat me out, stomped on me, scratched me off the floor, let his dog chew me through and spit me back out again."

Sasuke raised a brow. "That bad, huh? What the hell did you do?"

Naruto groaned as he moved his muscles. "You know that whenever you start to get arrogant I kick your ass to get you back to earth?"

Sasuke's brow twitched. "I would word that differently, but yes. And?"

Naruto winced. "I noticed I was getting arrogant, and decided to find someone to put me in my place before it was too late. Long story short, I found what I was looking for, and now I'm sore as hell."

Sasuke shook his head. "What did you do? Barge into a ANBU-meeting with a kunai, threatening to kill everyone?"

Naruto looked at him. "Couldn't you have given me that idea sooner? It would have saved me a lot of pain."

Now Sasuke was intrigued. "Just w ho did you take on that would hurt you more than ANBU?"

Naruto sighed. "You wouldn't believe me anyways."

Sasuke raised a brow. "Try me."

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Okay, I went to a castle-ruin on Hi no Kuni's border and sought out a high-class devil, a pureblood vampire."

Sasuke's eyes widened. Naruto had told him about demons, fiends and devils, their differences and about some of the classes, vampires for example. "Have you completely lost your mind? You yourself said that the older a vampire gets, the stronger he gets, and that even young purebloods have the strength of a Kage! How old was the vampire?"

_**'She said she participated in the fight that gave us bijuu our title, so she's at least four-thousand years old, probably older.'**_ Kyuubi stated.

Naruto attempted to shrug, but winced in pain. "A few millenniums?"

Sasuke facepalmed. "Naruto, you are such a dobe. What possessed you to fight a Oldblood? You said they had the strength to squeeze an elephant to the size of a pea, and were fast enough to give the Yondaime a run for his money!"

Naruto nodded weakly. "And now that I fought one, I can say with clean conscience: It's all true. One punch with not even 80% strength liquified my internals, and I would have sworn that my spine separated. It nearly tore me in half. Maria could probably toss mountains when pissed."

Now Sasuke laughed. "Maria? You got your ass kicked by a girl? I would have paid entrance to see that!"

Naruto glared at him. "What? Not everything that's powerful and destructive has to have a dick."

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Still blunt as a hammer I see. And you're lucky that nobody but us is here yet, or the girls might pound you, and in your weakened state..."

Naruto grinned. "I'm not worried. they're too busy poun_c_ing on you to be poun_d_ing on me."

Sasuke shuddered. "Don't remind me. I still don't get it. I've tried everything to keep them away, and the only thing that had any effect was being an ass, and not even that really works. They still cling to me."

Naruto winced as he moved a bit. "Tell me about it. They're starting to interrogate me how I managed to sneak your friendship. I actually told one girl I sacrificed to Satan, and a few days, later, I had to explain I was kidding while saving a puppy from her knife. On a lighter note, that got me a few points with the Inuzuka. Tell you what. As soon as I can breathe painlessly, I'll help you look for some sort of help."

Sasuke grinned. "I'll nail you to that."

Naruto nodded while turning his focus to his mind. 'Can't you do something to end this pain?' He asked Kyuubi.

_**'I could,'**_ came the answer _**'but then how would you learn your lesson on how stupid it is to mess with someone way out of your league. You will be able to fight high-class devils, fiends and demons eventually, but you're not even close. And Wind is the worst element to use against vampires. First of all, they don't breathe, so they're not bound by the wind, and secondly, the Oldbloods can control the weather, meaning that they have control over wind as well. Lightning or Fire work better, though I'd advise sub-elements like Plants, Acid or Lava, or the Forces. The Forces work best, though Time has limited effects since they don't age. Anyways, you're sore because you overexerted yourself. Do what every human does in this situation, live with it.'**_

"Asshole." Naruto muttered.

Kyuubi laughed. _**'I aim to please.'**_

* * *

A few days later, Naruto was back to normal, and Sasuke cashed in his promise. Which was why they were in the library now, looking for something about fangirls. Granted, getting Naruto inside had not been easy, but in the end, the wish to serve the 'last' Uchiha had been stronger than the dislike for the demon brat.

They had found useful things, like books about codes and traps, but nothing that really helped much. Then Sasuke heard Naruto choke. "You okay?" He asked.

Naruto sounded like he was laughing, yet really stressed. "There's good news and bad news, what do you want first?"

Sasuke raised a brow. "The good news."

Naruto nodded. "The good news is that I found something that might help. It's titled: _Fangirls: All you need to know to identify and avoid them_"

Sasuke jumped to him. "Sounds great, what's the bad news?"

Naruto showed him the object, and Sasuke stared at the little wiring on the edge: _by Itachi Uchiha_

Sasuke's brow twitched. For a second, Naruto was worried that Sasuke wasn't taking the mentioning of the name well, until Sasuke started laughing.

"MwahahahahahahaHAHAHA!" In the end, he was on his knees, holding his stomach.

Naruto gave him a worried look, thinking his friend had finally went over the edge by reading that name. "What's so funny?"

Sasuke seemed to have trouble speaking, but he finally managed to mumble "Oh the irony. Itachi, my biggest problem for the future, has given me the solution to my biggest problem of the present. And it looks like he had the same problem I have, so his days weren't too fun either."

Naruto looked at him, then he laughed as well. "So, when you meet him again, you'll shake his hand for writing that before the interrogation and subsequent execution?" He asked.

Sasuke shrugged. "Pretty much. Although if there will be a execution will greatly depend on the results of the interrogation." Sasuke bagged the scroll and stretched "But I'll kick his ass for all the trouble he's caused me either way. I'll just beat him half to death and decide what do next when I get to that point."

Naruto chuckled. "We'll cross that bridge when we reach it, huh?" He shrugged. "But I'm glad that I finally managed to talk you out of going off to search for your brother right away. You simply don't have the skills to face him yet."

Sasuke stared at him. "You _talked_ me out of it?! From what I remember, you beat the shit out of me whenever I tried!"

Naruto shrugged. "If it makes you feel better, compared to what Maria did to me, all you got was a friendly pat."

Sasuke's brow twitched as he remembered some of the beat-downs the blond had given him when he, in what even he admitted to be small fits of rage-induced madness, had tried to hunt down his brother right away. "Don't get me wrong Naruto, but I really hope it hurt."

Naruto suddenly had phantom-pain and shuddered. "Trust me, it hurt. Being trampled by a horde of elephants would probably hurt less." When Sasuke smirked, Naruto added. "It probably even hurt more than a stampede of your fangirls. Since we're on the topic, don't you hear a low grumble?"

Sasuke grimaced. "Very funny." Then he heard it. He paled. "Oh you have got to be kidding me."

The news that Sasuke Uchiha was in the library, a room with only one entrance and therefore only one exit had apparently leaked to the fangirls, and while they weren't really numerous enough to deserve to be called a stampede, they were more than violent enough in their mission to be the first to reach him to make up for their lack of numbers.

Sasuke's eyes darted around, desperately looking for a way out. At that moment, he reminded Naruto of a cornered animal. Then the blond kid remembered that the fangirls tended to pounce on him as well, to make him lead them to Sasuke. One had actually tried to put a choker on his neck and make him sniff the Uchiha out. He wasn't a damned bloodhound, if they wanted one, they should get an Inuzuka! Actually, some had put together and sent it as a mission-request, which Naruto and Sasuke, through a lot of begging, had managed to get denied.

"Sasuke," Naruto hissed "stop thinking like a kid and start thinking like a shinobi. The enemy thinks they have blocked all exits, but they don't know how to walk on walls, most don't even know it's possible. How about we use one of the windows close to the ceiling."

Sasuke nodded. "I say we make like a drummer and beat it."

Naruto grinned. "Amen to that."

* * *

The years had passed quickly for Naruto and Sasuke. Their training and teamwork progressed leaps and bounds. Sasuke's Fire-manipulation reached a new height, and his Lightning-training was also showing good results. In Raiton, he was theoretically on the level of a jonin, while his Katon were ANBU-level, his other elements being on low-to-middle chunin-level, but he and Naruto had one major problem: They had little to no jutsu to use that mastery with, which was even more frustrating for Naruto. The blond had mastered all elements to a high-chunin to low-jonin level, except his Wind-affinity, which defied description. At his current level, he could sharpen all surrounding winds, control them to a degree, and was even starting to taste the wind, how Sasuke called it. It basically meant he was trying to feel traces of chakra in the wind. So far, he was not succeeding.

But their main problem was that nobody would give high-level jutsu-scrolls to academy-students, not even if he was the Uchiha. Of course, they apologized profoundly if they couldn't serve the last Uchiha, but the library-workers, which had in the meantime been replaced by less hateful ones, stayed hard at that point. They would give him stuff going from genin to low chunin, which strictly spoken was already more than they were allowed, but that was as far as they were willing to go. When Naruto tried, they had politely sent him out, telling him that it was not possible. Naruto had shrugged it off, seeing as polite words was more than he usually got, and decided to wait until he was a genin and therefore permitted to enter the shinobi-section on his own, then sneak into the higher-ranked sections. The Uchiha-complex had also been a disappointment, since the Uchiha-clan had apparently grown to despise writing in Madara's absence, voting for simply memorizing the jutsu and show them to others so that the Sharingan could copy it. Now that the Uchiha were dead, nearly all jutsu-knowledge the clan possessed had died with them. And while Naruto's Guardians threw them some bones, they also didn't teach them too much of the fun stuff before they made genin.

That of course wasn't saying they didn't see fit to give him and Sasuke enough firepower to demolish any chunin.

* * *

Naruto stretched. The academy had just ended, there was only a week left to the genin-exams, and the two of them had no idea what to do to kill time.

Their friends were busy with their families. Out of the two of them, Naruto was definitely the more open one. He had befriended Shikamaru Nara over a game of shogi, which Naruto had lost, although Shikamaru admitted that it had been tougher than most games. And once you befriend Shikamaru, you're also a friend of Chouji Akimichi. Naruto had immediately got off to a good start with the big-boned but kindhearted kid, as they had a fascinating discussion over the many, many good points of Ichiraku-ramen. There was another boy that somewhat got along with them, Kiba Inuzuka, a terrible braggart who repeatedly challenged Naruto and Sasuke for matches, and shared the same fate that struck Naruto whenever he faced Shikamaru on a shogi-board,but was a decent guy once you got to know him. To Naruto's surprise, Sasuke had made friends with Shino Aburame, the only boy in class that talked even less than him. Naruto had joked about it for a while, but eventually it got boring and he stopped. Naruto was unsure what to think of Hinata Hyuuga, he had heard that her clan was incredibly arrogant, but she didn't give that feeling. If one looked at her, they'd instantly conclude that the girl had practically no self-esteem. Naruto had tried to talk to her, but the girl had grown red and hurried off, leaving him confused. For some reason, Sasuke had laughed his ass off, with Naruto being the good friend he was promptly kicking it back into place when the Uchiha refused to explain what was so funny.

But right now, none of their friends had time due to training, but since they never trained together, Naruto and Sasuke couldn't give anything but a few tips to them. So Naruto and Sasuke were more or less wandering aimlessly through Konoha, discussing ideas for jutsu, strategies for the real genin-test that both had already concluded had to exist, since what they demanded in the official one was a joke. Naruto was about to make a suggestion when one of his hidden clones dispersed, giving him a message that made him flinch.

"Sasuke, we have a situation F, Code black, platinum pink." That was part of the code they had developed between each other. The situation was who was approaching, D standing for drunks (problem for Naruto), A meant Asskissers (problem for Sasuke), V was the synonym for violent people (Naruto), M meant mob (mainly Naruto), and O meant other pests (both). F was fangirl.

The colors stood for the numbers, green meaning one to three, yellow was four to eight, orange meant nine to fifteen, red was sixteen to twenty-five, and black meant it was a mob, or in this case, a horde. Platinum and pink were two codes for two people, in this case Sasuke's biggest fangirls, Ino and Sakura.

Sasuke paled. "Those damned bloodhounds just don't give up, do they? You'd think that after four years of insults, cold shoulders and generally being ignored they'd get the hint. We are so outta here." Naruto nodded, and both scaled the wall of the nearest building to put some distance between them and the lusty, or in Naruto's case violent, horde of females.

* * *

A week had passed, and Naruto was frowning as he looked at his test. First of all, there was a genjutsu on the thing, and after it had been removed, the questions were nearly impossible to answer to anyone below jonin, not that his Guardians plus the prisoner wouldn't have been able to ace the test. But alarm-bells went off in Naruto's head. While trying to sabotage his efforts were nothing unusual, they normally didn't do it at such important events, as a single complaint to the Hokage would reveal the sabotage, costing the responsible ones their career and a few painful sessions with the Torture-and-Interrogation-department, courtesy of a law concerning sabotage on future generations that the Shodaime himself had laid down back when he had still possessed his own body.

Naruto frowned. There were only two teachers here, and while Iruka was annoying with is magic power to catch him whenever he made a prank, the man still cared for his students, and to his defense, he at least tried to get some of the stuff into Naruto's head and answered all questions Naruto would ask, although sometimes a bit annoyed,which was understandable. Naruto was hands-down the best one in taijutsu, but the theoretical parts escaped him. It wasn't that he was unable to learn them, well, not only, he simply saw no point in doing so. It was not like knowing when the Nidaime had passed a law concerning the limitations of the lumber-production would help him against enemy shinobi, although that example probably would be good for anyone meeting Kimori or another Plant-elemental. Anyways, Iruka was the last person to give out a rigged test, and while it was possible he had been accidentally given the wrong sheet, the genjutsu was no accident. And since it couldn't be Iruka, that narrowed the suspects down to Mizuki. The man had always acted friendly, but neither Naruto nor Sasuke had ever fallen for that, being able to judge characters well enough to understand that Mizuki was not the type of person that one would want to watch one's back. But what did he plan to do?

Naruto wanted to know, so he decided to flunk the test and see what happened. He could always go to the Hokage and ask for permission to become a genin, jiji knew him well enough to grant it, and defend his decision in front of the council, seeing that Naruto had the skill needed, and would be the best protection for the 'precious Uchiha', not to mention keep the boy's sanity from going off the deep end.

Of course, that didn't mean that Naruto would cease all effort, his pride wouldn't allow that. He'd ace the taijutsu-portion and the weapon-throwing, although Sasuke still beat him in that department, unless of course, Naruto asked the wind for a favor.

And so it happened. Naruto screwed up the written test, beat Mizuki who was holding the spars to a pulp, gaining full points there, and coming in a close second after Sasuke. Right now they were waiting for the ninjutsu-portion of the exam, which Naruto and Sasuke thought was a joke, although Naruto wouldn't even have to try to screw it up, since they asked for the normal _Bunshin no Jutsu_. That jutsu took too little chakra for Naruto to perform, because even with his improved control, it was still like trying to water a cactus with a fire-hose, a most frustrating experience.

Sasuke glanced at Naruto and formed handsigns, using a sign-language they had developed themselves, a mixture between ANBU-handsigns, handsigns of Suna's counterparts for ANBU, DUST, and a few more common signs, although the meaning of the gestures was often warped to the point that someone who knew all gestures would only comprehend gibberish if he hadn't been taught by the inventors. The message was short.

What's wrong?

Naruto gestured back.

I'll flunk the test. On purpose. I've been given a genjutsu-covered test, which is way too hard for a genin even without the covering. Mizuki is up to something, and I want to know what.

Sasuke raised a brow.

Have I ever told you that you were paranoid? Do whatever you want, it's not like you won't be set up as my watcher anyways. The council wants you to be my shield, and the Hokage wants to keep my first friend at my side, so that he can pull me out when I'm sinking into darkness.

Naruto chuckled.

Quite the philosopher, aren't you? But anyways, I'll tell you what happened tomorrow.

Sasuke snorted.

So you intend to have all the fun by yourself?

Naruto grinned.

Indeed, with all the crap Mizuki put me through, all the sabotage-attempts, and the ridiculous punishments for harmless pranks...

Sasuke interrupted him.

That one with the scorpion from Suna in his shoe was harmless?

Naruto flinched.

That was different, and only retribution for handing me faulty equipment, trying to teach me wrong stances and handing me a test-sheet for ANBU, then making me clean the entire academy when I failed. Anyways, as I was saying, after all the crap he put me through, I'll enjoy mopping the floor with him.

Sasuke rolled his eyes.

Do whatever you want, you will anyways.

Naruto nodded, before stretching and laying his head on his arms to catch some shuteye before he blew the final test.

When his name was called, he, as he had expected, was asked to perform the _Bunshin_, something he would never be able to do, even if his life would depend on it. So of course, it ended in magnificent failure. What came out was honestly pathetic, and Iruka could only give it a fail.

"Come on," Mizuki tried to reason, much to Naruto's surprise "Can't we look the other way once, and give him a pass? He's pretty good in most other categories."

Iruka frowned. "You know we can't do that, Mizuki. Rules are rules, and he failed to gain the necessary amount of points. Everyone else conjured at least three clones, and he made only one, and that one looks like it will croak any moment."

Indeed, Naruto agreed that he himself felt the urge to put the poor thing out of its misery. So, a little later, he found himself on the swing, listening to proud parents mock his failure while most would soon face a bitter awakening when their children failed the true tests. And as Naruto had expected, Mizuki walked to him.

"You know, Iruka really wanted to pass you. It broke his heart to fail you, but he was worried that you might die in the field if you weren't prepared."

While Naruto knew he was more prepared than any other graduating student, with the possible exception of Sasuke, he knew that Mizuki had probably even told the truth. He shrugged, feigning sadness. Mizuki took the bait.

"Hey Naruto, there still is a way for you to pass."

'Yeah,' Naruto thought 'ask jiji to pass me.'

But Mizuki's answer was different. "There is a secret exam, it consists of sneaking into the Hokage's office, taking the large scroll placed there and learning a jutsu from it."

'Well isn't that the biggest load of bullshit I have ever heard?' Naruto wondered, but he would do it. He couldn't resist a challenge, and he wanted to see where it lead.

* * *

Getting into the tower was disappointingly easy, Naruto made a mental note to remind jiji to make sure the guards were paying more attention to their surroundings in the future. After all, while he was good, Maria had pounded the fact into his head that others were better, and ANBU and a number of jonin were better than him. This was a potential security-risk, and Naruto had no intention of leaving it like that.

He found the scroll, and the Hokage.

"Naruto, what are you doing?"

Naruto looked at the man he considered a grandfather. "Jiji, I flunked the test on purpose, because I noticed something off about Mizuki's behavior, and I was proven right when he told me there was a hidden genin-exam, consisting of sneaking into this tower, which I'd like to add was ridiculously easy, take that scroll and learn a jutsu from it."

The Hokage frowned. "This is not one of your pranks, is it?"

Naruto shook his head and placed a hand over his heart. "Cross my heart, I speak the truth."

The Hokage nodded. "Very well, I'll allow you to borrow the scroll, just in case Mizuki can somehow spot a fake, find out what Mizuki is up to."

Naruto bowed, grinning like the Cheshire-cat. "It will be as you command, Hokage-sama." He grabbed the scroll and turned to leave.

Sarutobi frowned. "And Naruto."

Naruto turned around. "Yes?"

The Hokage gave him a stern look. "Capture Mizuki alive and sane enough for interrogation."

Naruto grimaced. "Take all the fun out of this, why don't you. I should have just grabbed the scroll and knocked you out with my _Oirike no Jutsu_. But fine, I won't kill him. Although I can't make any promises about his mind, it's not my fault if it can't handle a little strain."

Sarutobi shuddered, remembering the first time Naruto had sent him to the floor with what he called the anti-pervert-jutsu, before regaining his stern look. "Naruto..."

Said boy rolled his eyes. "Fine, he'll be able to sing like a little bird when I'm done with him." Then he jumped out of the window, before the Hokage had a chance to order him not to look into the scroll. He wanted to have something out of all his trouble after all.

* * *

Naruto was sitting on a clearing, not his preferred one, but one that had been made by wood-cutters. Naruto didn't like lumbering, but he understood that the village had to get their wood from somewhere, and that it was impossible to make an omelet without breaking a few eggs. So now he was waiting for Mizuki, realizing that the idiot had forgotten to set up a meeting-place. So he had time to kill.

Suddenly, he heard the scroll speak to him. _"Open me. I contain some things you will want to have in your arsenal."_

Naruto's fingers twitched, when Kyuubi's amused voice rang through his head. _**'You know, they say that projecting your thoughts onto lifeless objects is a sign of madness.'**_

Naruto's brow twitched. 'Shut up, I know that. But the temptation is so strong.' He looked at the scroll. 'I shouldn't, I really shouldn't. Just a peek.'

He unrolled the scroll, looking for something that peaked his interest. And the first thing in the scroll surprised him. 'Wait, _Kage Bunshin_ was a kinjutsu?'

Minato's voice filled his head. 'Yes, the chakra-cost for that jutsu have killed some who couldn't properly judge their reserves, and an overflow of returning information has already left people vegetables. But, we're all keeping an eye on you, to make sure that you don't make such errors. Your chakra-reserves are much too large and much too dense to be drained, even if you summoned legions of clones, but that would in turn risk an overflow of information, so be careful son.'

Naruto could only say one thing to that, a sentence that every child has spoken at some point in his life, usually without meaning what they spoke. 'Yes dad.'

Madara seemed interested. _'Now that we're warned, what else is in the scroll?'_

Even Hashirama was curious . **'I do wonder what they have added since I wrote the first kinjutsu into it.'**

Naruto smiled. 'So there are three votes for 'look at the scroll' not counting mine, and none against. Democracy decided that I have a look.'

Most of the stuff inscribed seemed like things Naruto didn't want to learn now, as they were techniques that were designed to torture, or things that either cost the caster's life or would damage his body. Naruto was about to close the scroll, when something caught his attention. 'Well well, what have we here?'

The technique was called _Chishio Seiha_, and it sounded intriguing. The jutsu gave one a certain degree of control over the blood in one's body, and even greater control for one's blood outside of one's body, giving one the ability to form weapons out of one's blood, injecting it into others, gaining control over the victim's blood, or stop wounds from bleeding, essentially allowing them to fight without having to worry about bleeding to death. There were a few warnings, namely that once invoked, this jutsu could not be canceled, although one didn't have to continuously focus to keep the blood flowing, and that one shouldn't reabsorb any blood that left the body, as it was likely to be filled by bacteria and even small objects once outside of the body, meaning that every drop of blood outside of the body was lost until the body reproduced it. Likewise, absorbing another one's blood was not advised, as there were compatibility-issues with other people's blood. Naruto was optimistic that with Kyuubi, he could safely reabsorb any blood he used as weapon, thus reducing if not removing the main reason the jutsu had been labeled 'forbidden', as most users bled themselves dry.

Naruto grinned to himself. 'Okay, let's play democracy again. All in favor of me using this jutsu on myself?'

Kyuubi answered first. _**'Using blood that the enemy spilled to kill him? That's a fun idea, go for it.'**_

The other three pondered for a moment, before giving their answer. Hashirama spoke first. **'It would guarantee you the element of surprise, and according to the scroll, the process itself works and has a 0% chance of killing it's user, they die from using too much blood in too little time, so I would suggest you activate that jutsu, and use it with care.'**

Madara also liked the idea. _'As long as you are careful, there is no reason not to do it. In my opinion, a ace like that up one's sleeve can only be good, so I suggest you use it.'_

Minato didn't disagree. 'It should be fine. And it sounds like it would be really cool, so I say go for it.'

Naruto smiled. 'Five for yes, zero for no, let's do it.'

The required handsigns numbered over two-hundred, ending with a lost handsign meaning Blood, but Naruto managed to complete the sequence on his first try. At first he felt nothing, then...

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRGGH!" It felt like liquid fire running through his body, and despite his high pain-tolerance, he couldn't hold in a scream of agony as his body went into seizures, leaving him on the ground. It was agony! Every cell in his body howled in unbearable pain! It was hell! It was... over. Breathing heavily, Naruto came back to his feet, still visibly shaken.

'Note to self,' Naruto thought 'never do that again.'

But now that it was done, Naruto couldn't help but wonder what he could do now. He focused, seeing if something seemed different, and indeed, he could feel his blood-flow. He focused on his hand, and a cut opened, blood pooling in his palm. He then focused, and the blood flowed up his fingers, forming a very crude, crimson claw. Then he tried his claws on the ground. He looked at it. It wouldn't cut someone in half, but it would leave a few gashes, and since the scroll said there was limited control over the opponent once one's own blood was in his system, all he had to do to win was get the blood into the enemy.

Madara spoke up. _'Careful with your thoughts, overconfidence can be the best shinobi's downfall.'_

Kyuubi chuckled. _**'Just look at what happened to Madara and your Shodaime. Madara was overconfident and wasted too much chakra, rendering him unable to control me, and Hashirama spent too much chakra, leaving him unable to restrain me.'**_

Hashirama cleared his throat, obviously slightly embarrassed. **'The point is that there is no such thing as a perfect move. Never assume that one move will end the battle, no matter how likely it is that it will. Always assume that the enemy has an ace up his sleeve, and keep a few aces hidden as well. After all, what good is a move that can immediately kill a foe if the foe is warned and avoids getting hit?'**

Naruto saw the logic, but wasn't convinced. Kyuubi gave the last push. _**'Not all you enemies will be human. We demons consist of pure youki, so we don't have blood that you could control. And I'd love to see Maria's reaction if you tried to use blood against her.'**_

Naruto shuddered at the thought, especially since for a moment, he thought he heard Maria's voice.

"How sweet, you prepared dinner."

Naruto nodded quickly. 'Point taken. Don't slack off, don't overuse it. Got it.'

Still, he decided to try to turn his blood into projectiles, but that turned out to be a utter failure. The blood stayed solid while connected to him, but a few feet away from his body, it turned back into a liquid. Naruto shrugged. It wouldn't be any fun if he could do everything right off the bat.

Then Naruto looked down on him, and realized his state of dress. He was covered in mud. 'Of course, of all the places to collapse into seizures, it had to be the one dirty, muddy spot on the entire clearing. Curse you Murphy!'

Naruto had just finished the silent rant, when he felt someone approaching. At first he tensed, preparing to attack Mizuki, when he realized it wasn't Mizuki. It was Iruka!

"Naruto, what the hell where you thinking?!" The man shouted.

Naruto reacted in a calm and collected way unique to him, showing his immense talent with words. "Um, what?"

Iruka sighed. "Stealing the Forbidden scroll, what were you thinking?"

Naruto gulped. Apparently, it hadn't been the Hokage that briefed him, which kinda narrowed it down to one person: Mizuki. The man had probably been unable to find Naruto, and had the idea of using Iruka's many-times-cursed ability to locate Naruto. But right now, he had to calm Iruka. "Mizuki-sensei said if I learned a jutsu from that scroll I'd pass, and I did."

Iruka looked at Naruto. The boy was covered in dirt, and here and there Iruka could see splatters of fresh blood. Had Naruto really trained that hard? He frowned. But if Naruto spoke the truth... A whizzing sound made him spin and jump to cover Naruto, who was actually too baffled to do anything but stare. A giant shuriken was suddenly sticking out of Iruka's back.

Naruto was lost for words. "Why?" He stammered out.

Iruka looked at him, tears in his eyes. "I know how you feel. I was an orphan after Kyuubi attacked, all alone. So I played the clown, it was better than being unseen. I'm sorry I couldn't help you more." Tears were running down his face.

Naruto didn't know what to say. Iruka was right, that had been the reason he had started pranking, although he also did it to train stealth and to get revenge. Mizuki of course had no such problems.

"Don't play coy Iruka, you hate the boy more than most others. Naruto, shall I tell you why you're hated?"

Iruka's eyes widened. "No Mizuki, it's forbidden!"

Naruto silently raised a brow. After he had 'tricked' Naruto into stealing the Forbidden Scroll and mercilessly attacked, did Iruka really believe that Mizuki would care about breaking the Sandaime's law to gain a advantage?

He obviously didn't. "Naruto, I'll tell you. Twelve years ago, the Kyuubi no Kitsune attacked the village. Those who stood against it fell like flies, including Iruka's parents. Even the Yondaime fell, without being able to slay it. But his sacrifice was not in vain, as he sealed the Kyuubi in an infant. That infant is you, Naruto. YOU ARE THE KYUUBI THAT ATTACKED OUR VILLAGE."

In Naruto's head, Kyuubi snorted. _**"You people are way too arrogant. Believing that I'd waste my precious time and travel to your village, just to wipe it off the map. I was merely on my way to someplace else, and retaliated the attacks on me. As any other being of my power, I do not tolerate insolence!"**_

Naruto ignored the voice for now, pretended to be shocked and retreated with the scroll on Iruka's order. After all, it really wouldn't do if the scroll got damaged when he demoli... uh, fought Mizuki.

So he hid the scroll away, only to see that during his short absence, Iruka had tricked Mizuki again. He was about to step in, when he heard Mizuki speak.

"Why do you protect the demon? Since he has that scroll, he will only gain in strength and take whatever he wants. In that aspect, he's just like me."

'I object to that statement.' Naruto thought, but remained silent to not miss the answer.

Iruka, obviously injured, coughed. "You're right." Naruto felt disappointed, when Iruka continued "That's what the fox would do."

Kyuubi snorted again. _**"As if humans would have anything that would I care for."**_

Iruka continued. "Naruto and you are nothing alike. He is a hard-working, talented boy that I am proud to call my student!"

Naruto had a warm feeling, together with a tinge of guilt... for ever having doubted Iruka.

Minato spoke. 'There are few good men in this world, that's one of them. You can trust Iruka, he is attempting to sacrifice his life to buy you time to get a head-start.'

The warm feeling spread and Naruto nodded. 'I won't let Mizuki harm a hair on Iruka's head. As long as there is a last spark of life in me, Mizuki won't get within a mile's radius to Iruka, that I promise.'

Kyuubi gave a disgusted sound. _**'Way too cheesy. And if you want to keep your word, I suggest you start moving.'**_

Mizuki snarled. "Originally, I intended to take out the demon-brat first, but I changed my mind. Iruka, DIE!" He through his giant shuriken at the downed man.

'Oh no you don't!' Naruto thought as he intercepted the projectile. He glared at Mizuki. "I'm going to clobber you!" he hissed.

Mizuki sneered. "Try it, demon! I'll take you out with one hit!"

Naruto raised a brow. "Like you did in the genin-tests?"

Mizuki grimaced. "Do you really think I went all-out on you?"

Naruto grinned. "Well that makes two of us. _Kage Bunshin no Jutsu_!"

With a puff, hundreds of Naruto-clones appeared, causing Mizuki to pale as they charged him.

After a few minutes, they stepped back from the bloody pulp that was Mizuki, the real Naruto looking at Iruka, and injecting some of his own blood to keep the man from bleeding dry, ordering Iruka's blood to flow as if the blood-vessels had never been damaged and watching in fascination as the blood flowed through non-existing vessels, as if there was no wound. Then he turned around.

Mizuki had fought himself to his feet, heavily wobbling. "You'll...pay...for...that..., DEMON!" Then he pulled out a small vial, drank its content and began to mutate, gaining striped fur and a lot of muscle.

Naruto's brows raised. "You call me a demon, and become a monster? Hypocrisy at its finest. But do you truly believe that you, a mere monster, can defeat me, host of the most powerful bijuu, strongest of the nine-tailed demons, which are the epitome of demonic evolution? I can beat you without moving an inch."

Mizuki growled. "Don't underestimate me!" He lunged at Naruto and thrust his fist at him, intending to smash him into pieces.

Naruto effortlessly stopped the punch by taking one hand out of his pocket. Mizuki's eyes bulged, but instead of backing away, he spun with stretched leg, only for Naruto to block the kick as effortlessly as he had stopped the punch, grabbing hold of the leg. He looked at Mizuki. "Compared to Maria's hits, your attacks are as weak as an infant's." He smiled. "You know, they say that even Buddha gets angry if you hit him thrice. Unfortunately for you Mizuki, I'm not that patient."

Mizuki was about to sink his fist into the brat's face, when he froze. In complete shock, he turned his head, only to see one of his own giant-shuriken sticking out of his back. He looked at Naruto. "How...?"

Naruto grinned. "Game over, you lose." He channeled raw Lightning-chakra through Mizuki's leg, causing the man to light up like a Christmas-tree before fainting, the shuriken no longer in his back as the charge had forced it out.

Naruto looked at the tiger-man. "It doesn't matter how you decorate a weapon or how many times you reforge it, you can't make a legendary sword out of inferior ore. To forge a great weapon, you need something pure, not murky and corrupted. What is this?"

Mizuki had mutated back, only that he had changed. He had aged at least eight years, and lost a good ten pounds. Wrinkles had formed on his face, not deep but clearly visible. Naruto frowned. "If this is what that power did to him after only a few seconds, I don't want to know how he would have looked after a few minutes, or hours." Naruto stretched. "Anyways, mission accomplished. Scroll should be back at the Tower by now, thanks to my clones, and Mizuki is alive and should be able to make a full confession."

"Naruto, come here." Iruka had regained consciousness. Naruto obeyed. "Close your eyes." When Naruto did, he suddenly felt a weight on his forehead. His brows raised. Iruka hadn't.

He had. He had put his forehead-protector on Naruto's head, and smiled at him. "You passed."

Naruto couldn't help but drop a tear, not so much for the message, but for how happy he he was to have found another precious person. He grinned. "Was there ever any doubt?"

Iruka sighed and shook his head. Then two ANBU appeared. Naruto rolled his eyes.

"Great timing Neko-san, Tora-san. Next time, how about you come and help before I beat the bad guy."

Tora seemed amused. "Don't tell me you really would have needed help just to take out... What happened to him?" He had noticed Mizuki's state.

Naruto shrugged. "He drank something, grew even uglier, I knocked him out, and when he changed back, he looked like that." When he noticed their doubts, clearly felt even through their masks, he raised his hands. "Really, I swear."

Neko sighed. "Fine, let's get these two to the hospital. And since I see a headband, I guess that you're a ninja now Naruto." Naruto nodded. In a display of emotion that clearly went against protocol, she pumped a fist into the air. "Yes, I knew it! Taka owes me a bundle of cash!"

Naruto sweat-dropped. "You were betting on me?"

Tora nodded. "After the ANBU heard you failed, it just started. And I'm not sad about it, since I won't have to pay for dinner the next few days."

Naruto could hear his good mood. He yawned. "Well, time for me to hit the sack. It wouldn't do if I overslept and missed who my teammates are."

The ANBU gave a last wave and vanished, while Naruto headed home, to catch up on some well-deserved sleep.

* * *

Chapter 9 is complete. Sorry it took so long, I got caught up in numerous things, like school, exams, and a new story, but in return, the chapter is a little longer, and the one after this one will be even longer. Whenever I start something new, I usually have to work on it for a while before I can completely focus on other things.

And I know many expected a bit more until the genin-exam, but first of all, originally I intended to be returning from Wave by now, but realized I had to extend certain things to be able to better explain them. And just because I started with canon doesn't mean that I will stop changing things, coming up with characters, or putting surprising meetings, original missions and other twists in between or inside of canon-archs.

And from what I gathered, Maria was well-liked. I have no intention of turning this into a Hellsing-crossover, although a few elements may find their way into this story. Anyways, I considered it, but decided that Naruto going to Maria every year would be a bad idea. First of all, she explicitly said that she wanted to savor him when he was 'ripe' and reached his full potential, and a year older doesn't count. Also, she's very moody, shifting from happy to murderous and back in seconds, so it's not really a good idea to test her patience. And just because she let him go once doesn't mean she'd do it again. In fact, the more they would meet, the less likely it would become. She will make a reappearance, I've already decided when, and we'll see what happens from that point, won't we?

And to those who claim that I just set up a NaruHina-pairing: I HAVEN'T! I like Hinata shy better than the ice-queen-Hinata I've read before, although I'll admit those stories can be very good two, so I decided to retain her shy personality. And she will have a crush on Naruto, since he'll still be a underdog in the academy. Constantly belittled by the teachers, disliked by most peers (Don't forget, there were 27 graduates, and only the Rookie 9 seemed to be in any sort of contact with him), given harder tests and constantly being reprimanded for ridiculous and not so ridiculous stuff, yet still prevailing through it all, does give Hinata the right to have a crush. That MAY turn into love, but it may just as well fade with time, leaving them as just friends. As for Maria as a pairing, possible, but it wouldn't be the classic romance, as I can't really picture her for romance. It'd probably be along the lines of strong teasing and stress-relief more than actual love and tenderness.

On that topic, do you want lemons in this story? It won't be every chapter, not even close, but if so, can you find me someone who can actually write them? I couldn't make a good one if my life depended on it.

I gave Naruto the ability with blood, frankly because I thought it would be cool. I first got the idea when I saw Chrona from Soul Eater, and I liked it. Naruto won't overuse it, nor will he repeatedly use it, it's more like a use-when-in-trouble-kinda thing. Tell me if you liked it. And it never fails to amuse me just how many jutsu that seem to have absolutely no drawback aside from the fact that they use miniscule amounts of chakra can be pulled out of the Forbidden scroll. And since I wanted Naruto

Here the explanation.

_Chishio Seiha_ (Inner Blood-flow Mastery/Spilled Blood Domination)  
Rank: Forbidden (D-S)  
Range: Short (0-5m), Middle (5-10m), Long (10+)  
Type: Offensive/Defensive/Support  
This technique allows one to control his blood, working as a necessary basis to all other Blood-techniques. The specific functions have been parted and classified by the two ways to read the kanji. The Inner Blood-flow Mastery focuses on the blood inside of the body, allowing one to control the flow, enabling them to effectively not bleed no matter how much damage one takes, or hardening the blood to a degree that it can block a blade. One of the biggest danger here as that by hardening the blood, one cuts the circulation to vital organs like the brain, or damages the heart when it tries to move the hardened blood. It is said that a true master of this branch can easily live without a heart, simply ordering the blood to flow. The second branch, the Spilled Blood Domination, allows one to control blood that has left him or her. This can be used to form weapons of blood, ranging from claws over whips to blades and projectiles. It is also possible to drain blood from others and use that as a weapon to preserve one's own limited reserves, although one should not attempt to absorb another's blood, as the body may reject the foreign substance. An advanced user can even control his blood after he injected it into another organism, allowing him to internally shred the person or use him as a puppet. The main risks with this style is to spend too much blood, as reabsorbing used blood, while possible, is not advised to keep foreign substances that may have coincidentally or purposefully been added out of one's system. Also, absorbing another's blood has been deemed forbidden amongst the users of this style, as aside from the compatibility-issues, diseases or drugs will be transferred with the blood.

Now onto my reviewers.

To hentaidemon7: As I wrote above, it can't become a therapy, but Maria will at one point be in Konoha, I already decided on that. As for her being related to Anko? Anko a dhampir? I haven't thought of it, and I'm not sure if it would work, but they would get along pretty well.

To Negi Atsui: Maria hasn't even begun to show her power, all she did was some brawling, summoning a few servants, a little advanced mind-control and minor use of telekinesis. She can do much more, and she has yet to show just how strong her telekinesis is.

To deltabeta26: I hope I explained why Naruto's strongest jutsu was a mere B-rank in this chapter. He has the potential for S-ranks, but he doesn't have _the_ S-ranks. Essentially, he is an amazing sharpshooter with kickass weaponry, but no ammunition except for the small guns. He does improve and he and Sasuke actually make their own, so by now, they have high-A-ranks and a few S-ranks under their belt.

To OnGuard: I checked you're right. Although I'm sure it uses chakra, everything in the Naruverse does, but in this case it's merely stored for usage beforehand. And since Naruto was pretty far away, in my story, he had to use a little chakra to contact the seal to bring him home.

To numisisa: Will Naruto visit Hell? I haven't planned that far, but it's possible. As for pairings, I haven't decided on anything yet and you're right, I put it in multiple ANs, even asking what pairings my readers want. Sorry if this sounds annoyed, it's 2:00AM.

To RavenNightwish: Kyuubi didn't advise Fire because Naruto at that point had no Fire-jutsu, nor had he trained his affinity for any element but Wind and Earth at that point. And just because I said that Naruto won't come every year, that doesn't mean that Maria isn't keeping an eye on Naruto, even if the boy is unaware of it, right? And yes, the Raijin has been stolen, but there is that old problem with going after fugitives, where to find them? They will meet, although that will likely be coincident rather than Naruto hunting him down. And no, Naruto and Neji won't meet, I have too mean a plan organized for Neji's beating in the chunin-exams to let him be purified before.

To IchiNel: I'll see what I can do with the pairing, and Maria was moaning when she drank the blood.

To Rick: No offense taken, I understand perfectly. Yes, I am overpowering Naruto and Sasuke right now, but I'm also overpowering their enemies, old and new, so it all evens out. And I'm not doing any crossovers, I'm merely bringing some elements of other series into Naruto, however unlike many other authors, I adjust them to make them fit better into the Naruverse, and I try to come up with actual reasons, or at least explanations, why they are there.

To T.D. Sugoi: Thanks for your input, and a pairing with Maria is possible, but since I don't feel like repeating myself every time, please read the entire AN, including the review-responses. And I went with Ki, until a reviewer told me Qi was right. Please solve that with each other, and send me the results.

To Lednacrek: I already decided that if I make a pairing, it won't be an we're-twelve-but-we-love-each-other-forever- thing, and the fun parts won't happen until everyone is a little older. I heard the 'Old enough to kill, old enough to fuck'-argument, and they have a point, but please, with twelve? I'd feel like I'm committing a crime if I wrote those. And the situation you described, while funny as hell, has one little problem: Sasuke isn't arrogant about the Sharingan. First of all, he didn't activate it yet, since he never really saw his life in jeopardy in the Nuke-nin-hunts, and Naruto beat any cockiness out of his head early. Still, it gave me a few ideas, so thanks.

To Akira Stridder: Read the ANs, there's a reason I write them. Yes Tobi, but I'm not saying how yet.

To suicidal-sinner: Don't worry, the chance of this becoming a vampire-story is 0%

To shiro-wolfman-k: Don't worry, this is not a crossover, and I never really bothered to watch or read Twilight, so I couldn't make this a Twilight-crossover even if I wanted to (No chance in hell!). As for the smut, it won't take over, especially since I'd have to find someone to write it for me first.

I think I said enough for the day, so

Please Review


	10. The Genin Exam

Chapter 10

"Speaking/SHOUTING"

'Thinking'

"_**Summon/bijuu"**_

"**Hashirama"**

"_Madara"_

"Minato"

"_Jutsu"_

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, nor will I ever. But if I listen to public opinion, I and pretty much anyone can run it better than Kishimoto. Public opinion, not necessarily mine.

* * *

Naruto looked at the clock. He looked at it again. He groaned. He had overslept! He jumped out of bed, and looked at his closet. He thought for a moment, then he opened it. The jumpsuit had served its purpose, upping the ante for his stealth-training, read pranks, and making people underestimate him, but now it was time for a costume-change.

He grabbed the clothes he had prepared for exactly this occasion and changed. On his way to the academy, he had a idea.

* * *

Sasuke sat on his chair, patiently waiting. He knew Naruto had become a genin, anything else would have made no sense, and rumors were going that Mizuki had not come to school today, which further strengthened Sasuke's belief that Naruto had found out something and beat the man to a pulp. But why hadn't Naruto arrived yet?

'He probably overslept. Typical.' He thought, glancing at the empty seat next to him. Normally a fangirl, namely Sakura or Ino, would have claimed the place by now, but fortunately for Sasuke's mood, Naruto had developed the habit of grabbing anyone on that seat by the back of the neck and unceremoniously tossing him aside to take the spot. Also, Shino had taken seat on Sasuke's right, meaning the place was blocked for all fangirls, who were too freaked by Shino to try and make the silent boy leave the spot.

At that point, Iruka stepped into the room, and the glances together with the short frown strengthened Sasuke's belief that Iruka was looking for Naruto as well, seeing that there was no student other than said blonde missing. And did Sasuke imagine things, or did Iruka look a little roughed up?

Iruka cleared his throat. "First of all, I want to congratulate you all for making it this far. You are about to become shinobi, genin, the lowest rank of shinobi, but nonetheless, the first step has been made. In the future, you will face harsh trials, difficult situations, and I will not lie, there will be defeat. But I know that you will pull through it all, growing from the difficulties and in hindsight, when you have become true shinobi of Konoha, you will see them as stepping-stones to where you will be, as the hammer that forged those protectors of Konoha and proud men and women that I know you'll be. And as your teacher, I can say that I'm proud of you all." Iruka felt a slight twinge of guilt, knowing full well that he would see many of these currently proud faces again in next year's class, but he had spoken the truth; he was proud of them.

When the mutters died, Iruka smiled. "Now, onto what I know you're all impatiently waiting for, the teams. Team 1 will be..."

But Iruka never finished, as something that rendered him speechless happened.

Suddenly all windows and the door slammed open, hurricane-like winds raging through them. Students screamed and grabbed hold of the tables and benches to not be blown away, though most girls used one hand to keep their ridiculously short skirts that they had picked for Sasuke down, while a select few used chakra to anchor themselves to the ground and watched in a mixture of shock and amusement. Pencils, books and a few stacks of paper that Iruka had spent hours putting into order flew through the air, causing a number of heads to duck even through there was little chance of getting hit. Right in-between the teacher's desk and the student's benches, a tornado-like twister formed, the objects now circling in its outer winds. Then a silhouette appeared in the center of the twister, and as sudden as it had started, it was over. The windows and doors closed, and the last breezes carried the objects back to where they came from, amazingly putting the papers back into neat stacks without a single page out of order. Where the twister had been a person stood, grinning widely. Naruto Uzumaki.

Silence reigned, then Sasuke spoke. "Hm, I'll give it a 8.7"

Naruto's smile faltered. "What?! Come on, that was at least a 9!"

Iruka sighed. "Since you couldn't be the first one here, you just had to have the best entrance, didn't you?"

Naruto smiled, but had the decency to quietly move to his seat next to Sasuke. "And it was a 9!" He hissed to the smirking Uchiha.

Shino spoke up. "It was most impressive, especially replacing everything correctly, although I would also take points off for being so late."

Naruto frowned. "Sorry, I had to change, and I overslept. But Shino, what would you have given?"

Shino seemed to think about it. "9.1" he then answered.

Naruto looked at Sasuke. "I told you it was a 9!" he hissed.

Sasuke shrugged. "Different judges judge things differently. Although you get a 10 for the improvement to your outfit, that jumpsuit was an eyesore."

It was not exaggerated that Naruto's outfit had made a turn for the better, as the boy was now wearing a silver flippable trench-coat, the inside being pitch-black, with the sword he had taken from the secret room below the Uchiha-clan's secret room hanging at his left hip. Below the coat, Naruto was wearing a gray shirt that while not skintight, was enough to give an idea of the muscles that were beneath it. He was also wearing black pants that were designed to maximize movement, with small, multi-segmented knee-caps made from some dull metal that would doubtlessly increase the pain anyone unfortunate enough to make contact with it would feel, and it was more than likely that his elbows had similar protection beneath the coat. Black fingerless gloves adorned Naruto's hands. The only thing that hadn't changed were the sandals he was still wearing, as Naruto had yet to find a shoe that looked good and would neither limit mobility nor ruin any attempt of stealth. All in all, it was a major improvement from the jumpsuit.

Naruto shrugged and turned his attention to Iruka, who had already declared six teams, ending many girl's hopes of being in a team with Sasuke.

"Team 7 will be Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha," The two boys smiled at each other and bumped their fists together "and Sakura Haruno." The fists opened as two palms slammed into their respective foreheads.

"YES! TAKE THAT INO-PIG, TRUE LOVE WINS!!!" Sakura shouted, while Ino and may other girls were complaining about while one girl simply looked disappointed.

Iruka continued. "Team 8 will be Kiba Inuzuka, Shino Aburame and Hinata Hyuuga." The three looked at each other, giving a short nod while Kiba, who was sitting next to Hinata, gave the girl a pat on the back.

"Look on the bright side, it could be worse. We all could have been paired up with some of the earsores that refuse to get the hint that their target of affection wants nothing to do with them. I don't think I could handle listening to one of them yelling how great Sasuke is every day without punching them in the face."

Hinata smiled and nodded.

Iruka looked around, then he spoke again. "Since Team 9 is still in circulation, the last team is Team 10, which will consist of Shikamaru Nara, Chouji Akimichi and Ino Yamanaka."

"WHAT?! I'M PAIRED WITH LAZY-ASS AND FATTY?! NO FAIR IRUKA-SENSEI!" Ino shouted.

Chouji jumped up. "I'M NOT FAT, I'M BIG-BONED, YOU UNDERWEIGHTED WITCH WITH A B!" He still remembered Ino smacking the chips out of his hand, right into a puddle, causing them to soak. To this day, the girl hadn't apologized.

Iruka's brow twitched as Ino yelled more insults. "SHUT UP!" He shouted.

Within a split-second, there was absolute silence.

_'How interesting. And amusingly, the man probably doesn't even realize what he's using.'_ Madara spoke.

'What is he using?' Naruto asked.

Madara chuckled. _'I won't go into too much detail, but I'll tell you this much. While I worked with Killing Intent, waking the instinctual feeling of a nearby predator, as an outsider being the source of fear, my brother Izuna played around with something he called Authority, which is the feeling of facing an alpha, as a insider being the cause of fear. While KI raises fear and panic, with visions of death when sufficiently advanced, authority gives an instinctual urge to obey, much quicker than conscious thought. Izuna had developed it to a point where he could order his enemy to cut his own throat and the enemy would have so before consciously realizing what was going on. Not that the man is even close to that level, but still. And the only way to resist is to have not pride or arrogance, but honest confidence that you are strong, which surprisingly few people have, even amongst the powerful. I and Hashirama were the only people who could resist Izuna, just to give you an idea of the willpower needed to resist a master of Authority.'_

'Can I learn that?' Naruto wondered.

_'Maybe,' _Madara replied_ 'but Authority only comes with experience. All you have right now would be cockyness, if not arrogance, and that will not be enough. This is one of those things you can't learn until you're older.'_

Naruto shrugged, and decided to wait for his official sensei while discussing a few ideas with Sasuke.

* * *

115 minutes later, they were still waiting. Naruto had grown annoyed, even though he was absolutely certain he knew who their sensei was, as only one man had the balls to leave the 'last' Uchiha waiting for two hours, the time being the second clue. Naruto decided that instead of a normal prank, he'd do something that tested Kakashi-niisan's reflexes. A evil smirk spread across his face. Kakashi wouldn't know what hit him, or he'd at least be very surprised.

* * *

Sakura ruffled her hair. "Where is our sensei!?"

Naruto stretched. "He'll either be here in exactly twenty seconds, or we have to wait another hour." He calmly stated.

Sasuke raised a brow. "How do you know?"

Naruto shrugged. "Our sensei is Kakashi Hatake, he is always late, and exactly x hours, so either he enters now or in sixty minutes."

The door opened and a man stepped in. the first thing they noticed was that there wasn't much they could notice, seeing that the man was wearing a mask over the lower part of his face, and his forehead-protector was covering the left eye, which only left the right eye, a bit of skin and the gravity-defying hair visible. The man looked around. "My first impression is, you're boring."

Kakashi had expected a prank, or at least something to drop on his head when he opened the door, but nothing.

Naruto slowly raised a hand and pointed his index-finger at the man. "And you're... late."

Kakashi raised a brow, but before he could answer anything, four kunai shot out of shady corners in the room, all flying at high speed aimed at Kakashi's chest. Kakashi's eye widened, but he drew a kunai of his own and repelled all four in a single swing. He gave a eye-smile. "Now that wasn't very... what the hell?!" Sakura gasped, while Sasuke's brow moved up slightly.

The kunai had stopped mid-air, their tips correcting their aim and shooting at Kakashi's chest again. Kakashi jumped back, but the kunai increased their speed again and shot towards his chest. Then Kakashi caught all four, feeling the invisible force that had directed it towards him pulling on the blades, then it was over.

Kakashi looked at Naruto. "I know that your Lightning-training is progressing well, but as far as I know, Sasuke's better with that element, so when did you master magnetism, something which only few ever managed, and only one has truly mastered?" He asked.

Naruto shrugged. "I don't know what you're talking about, I don't know magnetism. It's one of the things that I'm not yet able to do, though I'd like to learn it one day."

Kakashi's eye narrowed. Naruto was not a liar, so if it wasn't magnetism, and since Kakashi had been told the about both the Forces and that Naruto didn't have Gravity by the Hokage, it made him wonder what else he didn't know about Naruto. Kakashi shrugged. "Well, you're not as boring as I thought, although I'm starting to hate you all. Anyways, meet me on the roof."

With that, he _shunshin_ed away, leaving the three students behind. Naruto considered following Kakashi's example or simply scaling up the wall, but he decided that he showed enough skill for now. That little trick that he pulled on Kakashi didn't seem like such a good idea when looking back, not because of any consequences, but simply because it made Kakashi wary of him, and that would not be good in the real genin-exam.

Once they had all taken seat, Kakashi looked at them. "Now, since we'll be a team," 'or not' he mentally added before continuing "we should introduce ourselves."

Sakura tilted her head. "You should go first Kakashi, so that we'll know what to do."

Kakashi shrugged. "Why not. My name is Kakashi Hatake. I won't tell you my likes or dislikes. My hobby, hm, I have some. My dream? Well, you're a little young for that." He giggled.

All three genin-hopefuls shared a single thought 'All he gave was his name.'

Kakashi looked at them. "Pinky, you go first."

Sakura frowned at the naming, but spoke nonetheless. "My name is Sakura Haruno. I like..." She looked at Sasuke and squealed. "I hate Ino-pig! My hobby is..." Another squeal. "And my dream for the future..." The loudest squeal so far.

'A fangirl, oh joy.' Kakashi fought the urge to slam his head into the wall in frustration, as that type of woman was always the hardest to deal with. He liked to put fangirls into two categories.

One type was useful, either because they went the only way that gave them any respect and trained like crazy to gain skill to impress their crush, or they had useful connections, although Kakashi preferred the ones with skill.

The other type, seemingly the one Sakura belonged to, was the generally useless type. They cared about their looks more than about their training, spending money on make-up instead of shuriken, giving their hair more attention that their muscles, using perfume instead of scentkillers, and did the worst possible thing a ninja could do, diet. Any idiot knew that you lost weight from training, and that even gave the advantage of muscles in return. Honestly, all such girls were good for was cannon-fodder, and Konoha had a policy that forbade the shinobi of using them as such.

Personally, Kakashi never understood why women liked to simulate interrogation by starvation, giving anyone who dared eat a healthy meal in their presence dirty looks to hateful stares. He usually failed all teams the council had yet grown tired of shoving onto him, but if they had fangirls, he made sure that they realized just how outclassed they were. A normal bandit could beat them, and unsurprisingly they were extremely popular with the rapists amongst the enemies since they had good looks, little bark and no bite. You could tell that to the girls, heck you could show them video's that explained it, but even if they watched those, they'd loose all motivation it might have given them after a few days of work. It was frustrating!

Kakashi noticed that the boys seemed just as unhappy with their comrade as he was. He looked at Sasuke. "Okay, the broody one next."

Sasuke's brow twitched. He wasn't brooding, he was being an asshole, there was a difference! "My name is Sasuke Uchiha. I like few things, like my friends, getting stronger, onigiri and tomatoes. I hate many things, including but not limited to fangirls. My hobby is training. I'm no dreamer, but my goals are reviving my clan and finding two people."

Kakashi was intrigued. He had expected something darker, and the mention of a planned murder. It seemed Naruto was doing the boy good. "And what will you do when you find these people?"

Sasuke's head tilted. "One I will question, and depending on the answers, I will kill him. The other one, I will thank for saving my life."

Kakashi nodded. He had heard the story about the mysterious ANBU that saved Sasuke and who, according to records, didn't exist. The whole affair had been, how Shikaku had accurately summed it up, 'troublesome'. All searches for any clue had been for naught, there had not even been a scent or chakra-residue to prove that anybody but Sasuke, Itachi and his victims had been present.

He looked at Naruto. "And finally your turn. And while your outfit makes an impression, it's not that great for stealth. Silver so shining it reflects light?"

Naruto shrugged. "I have more of these, most of them in stealth-coloring. I just chose this one for today since I see little need in hiding. Anyways, I'm Naruto Uzumaki, I like the people I cherish, making friends and ramen. I dislike arrogance, my own included, people who judge others without knowing them. I hate if people cling to their ignorance, hypocrisy, those who abuse others, and rapists. My hobbies would be training, learning new things and hanging out with my friends. My dream would be to surpass all Hokage."

Kakashi nodded. "Very well, tomorrow at seven you'll meet me at training-ground 7, for a little survival-exercise against me. That will also be your genin-exam."

The boys nodded, having expected something of the sort, but Sakura was confused. "Sensei, we already passed our genin-exam."

Naruto sighed. "Do you really think that that test was all there was to becoming a shinobi? Three low-class jutsu, one of which is likely to never see combat because of its utter uselessness? A measly spar against an opponent who has to hold back so much he's barely allowed to move? Throwing a few projectiles at stationary targets? A _written_ test? Get serious, that was only to weed out the complete idiots."

"Like yourself!" Sakura hissed, insulted.

Naruto shrugged. "I flunked on purpose, since I thought something was fishy, and as a reward I got to beat Mizuki to a pulp when he turned traitor. I think that speaks for my skill."

Kakashi sighed. "Naruto's right, to be a genin is not that easy. In fact, the test I and the other potential senseis will be admitting has a 66% failure rate. You understand what that means, right?"

Sakura paled. "Only a third of the graduates will become genin."

Kakashi nodded. "Out of the 27 graduates, only 9 will become genin, the rest will be sent back to the academy. I already told you when to meet me, so there's really nothing else to do, so you're all dismissed for the day. Oh, and you shouldn't eat breakfast, it's not like you'll be able to keep it in if you do." Then he was gone.

Naruto and Sasuke shared a look. Sasuke spoke first. "So, till tomorrow at 9?"

Naruto nodded. "After a nice long breakfast."

Sakura seemed shocked. "Sensei said we weren't supposed to eat! And the test is at 7!"

Naruto rolled his eyes. "No, the time Kakashi gave was 7, and he's always at least two hours late. And his remark about breakfast was advice, not an order."

Sakura huffed. "Don't blame me if you fail." She turned away. "Sasuke, do you want to... Where is he?"

Sasuke had used the chance Naruto had provided him with to make his escape. Sakura turned to Naruto.

"Baka, where did you hide him?! Huh?" Naruto was also gone. Sakura huffed, and decided to go home. She had to go to bed early if she wanted to make herself pretty tomorrow before going to the training-ground.

* * *

Naruto and Sasuke entered Training-ground 7, having met at the entrance, only to see a dejected-looking Sakura leaning on a tree. As soon as she saw Sasuke, her face brightened. "Sasuke! Good morning, how are you doing?"

Sasuke, who had taken a precautionary step back, looked at her. "How long have you been here?"

Sakura shrugged. "Since 7, as ordered. Why are you so late?"

Naruto chuckled. "We're not late, you're early. One thing I learned in the academy, not the one who isn't in class when the bell rings is late, but the one who isn't in class when the teacher arrives is, and since I don't see our sensei anywhere, I'd say we're right one time."

Sakura was about to open her mouth, when... GRUMBLE

Naruto sweat-dropped. "Sakura, did you eat breakfast?"

Sakura looked offended. "Of course not! Sensei said not to!" GRUMBLE

Naruto's brow shot up. "Did you eat dinner?"

Sakura blushed. "I'm on a diet, so..."

Naruto and Sasuke face-palmed. Naruto looked at her. "Your body needs nutrients to supply itself with energy. How the hell do you plan on finishing a survival-exercise, read fight, against a JONIN if you're not at full strength?!"

Sakura looked embarrassed. Sasuke sighed, and grabbed into his backpack, pulling out an apple. He tossed it to Sakura. "It's not much, but you're no help if you faint on us."

Sakura blushed. She considered keeping the apple, to eternally remember the first gift the Uchiha had given her, but her stomach quickly vetoed and she ate it up. Keeping the rest would have been silly, not to mention that it would ruin her clothes if she put it in her pocket, so she threw it away.

With a poof, Kakashi appeared. "Well you all seem to get along nicely, so lets start. As you can see, I have these bells. The task is simple, get them from me. You have until noon."

Sakura blinked. "Wait, there are only two bells, so one of us has to fail!"

Kakashi nodded. "Of course. One of you will be sent back to the academy, after he has been tied to this post and watched while the others eat their lunches in front of him."

A collective sweat-drop followed the explanation, although Kakashi could read from the expressions the three were making that only Sakura had followed his 'advice'. He didn't know if he should commend her for obedience or scold her for stupidity.

Naruto shrugged. "So when do we start?"

Kakashi eye-smiled. "Right now. One advice, come at me with the intent to kill, or you won't succeed. And I see you weren't lying about your coat."

True to the statement, Naruto's coat was now sporting a camouflage-pattern designed for forests, consisting of patches of green, brown and black. The boy shrugged. "Reflective silver is not a good color for hiding, is it?"

Kakashi nodded. "True. The test starts NOW!" The genin-hopefuls jumped and vanished into the foliage, with one exception. Kakashi sweat-dropped. "Naruto, why aren't you hiding?"

Naruto looked at him. "Why should I? Our objective is those bells, if I hide, how am I supposed to get them? And your a former ANBU Kakashi-niisan, or do you prefer Inu? There's no way you won't be able to find freshly graduated academy-students in a terrain you have called them to."

Kakashi shrugged, the boy had a point. "So what now?"

Naruto grinned. "Now... I attack!"

With that, he dashed at Kakashi, fist raised. An instinct told Kakashi not to directly block, so instead he grabbed the fist, pulled it towards him and flipped Naruto over his shoulder.

The boy would have landed on his back, but instead he stretched arms and legs, landing on his soles and palms. For one moment, he seemed to make a bridge, giving Kakashi a wide grin, then his legs flipped forward, intending to give Kakashi a bone-shattering kick. But Kakashi effortlessly sidestepped the attack, ducking when Naruto's hand shot outwards, holding a kunai to slice Kakashi open. Once Naruto saw that the one-eyed man was out of range, he tossed the kunai with all the strength he could currently muster from his awkward position, only to curse when Kakashi replaced himself with a log.

Kakashi on the other hand stared at the kunai, that had pierced so far into the log that a section of the blade was sticking out the other side. 'If that hit a human body, it'd leave a hole you could see through. Better not get hit by those.' He told himself. Loud he said "Well aren't you just full of surprises?"

Naruto grinned. "You have no idea." He charged Kakashi, but the man vanished again. Naruto's eyes darted around, when he heard something that made him pale.

"_Sennen Goroshi!_"

Naruto jumped to the side. "No way in hell I'm suffering through that!" Kakashi missed him by a hair's width, Naruto staring at him. "Now that was just awful. That clearly went below the belt."

Kakashi looked at him. "You realize it would have been your own fault if you had been unable to dodge."

Naruto's brow twitched. "You realize that if it would have hit me, your books might have had an unfortunate accident." He ducked beneath a kunai-swipe.

Kakashi glared at him, murder in his eyes. "NOBODY THREATHENS THE ICHA-ICHA NARUTO, NOBODY!" He shouted, before peppering Naruto with blows that the boy was hard-pressed to dodge.

After blocking a kick that sent him skidding away, Naruto sighed. "This is getting me nowhere, so I'll retreat and regroup for now." With that, he jumped into the treeline, and Kakashi would have sworn the boy had just faded away into nothingness. Kakashi knew best that Naruto was the only one below jonin in Konoha who could successfully hide from ANBU, and while he could have located him, it would take too much effort, especially since he had two more students to test.

* * *

Sakura was baffled. She had just seen Naruto fight with Kakashi, and she didn't know what to say. While she would begrudgingly admit, if under pain of death or threat of eternal Sasuke-withdrawal, that Naruto was better in taijutsu than Sasuke, she had had no idea the blond boy could move like that. And while that ability tended to leave her when Sasuke was involved, Sakura could read most people easily, and from what she saw from Naruto's behavior, the boy hadn't gone all-out against their sensei! Granted, it was obvious sensei had been holding back, at least up to the point where he had shouted something and proceeded to pummel Naruto, the boy making an exit to save strength.

"Sakura." A voice behind her spoke. She turned around, only to see her sensei staring at her. Next she knew, she was standing in a whirlpool of leaves, which quickly subsided.

Then she heard a gurgle and turned around. She stared at the mutilated body of a blood-covered Sasuke, countless kunai and shuriken sticking out of him, his left arm, right leg and left eye missing. She did the only thing she could, she screamed and fainted.

* * *

"!"

Sasuke looked up. That had been Sakura's voice. Then he reminded himself that Kakashi was not allowed to kill or seriously injure them, and looked at the jonin, who was scratching his head. "Maybe I went a little overboard? Although her record claimed she was the best in the topic of genjutsu." He mumbled, before turning his attention to Sasuke. "Honestly, I'm amazed that you didn't attack me when I was fighting Naruto."

Sasuke snorted. "That was his fight, and he would have been beyond pissed had I intervened. Just as I would beif he popped up right now." He jumped to attack, Kakashi blocking two strikes, only to find that after blocking the third one, Sasuke was going for the bells.

"Oh no you don't!" With that, he tossed Sasuke away, just as the boy had touched one of the bells.

"Rats, almost had it." He started a series of handsigns which left Kakashi surprised.

'There's no way he can already do that! Then again, he trains with Naruto... Fuck!'

Sasuke grinned. "_Katon: Goukakyo no Jutsu!_" A giant fireball engulfed the place that Kakashi occupied, effectively reducing visibility in the specific area to zero. When the flames died down, Sasuke's eyes widened. Nothing! He hadn't expected to see a charred corpse, but Kakashi had vanished. And that could only mean one thing: Sasuke was about to be attacked.

His eyes darted around. 'Up? Behind? To the sides? Where is he?'

A voice rang out. "Below."

Sasuke's eyes widened as he felt someone grab his ankle. "Shit!"

Kakashi's voice sounded smug. "_Doton: Shinjuu Zanshu no Jutsu!_"

As Sasuke felt the ground give way beneath him, he shouted. "NOW!" There was a poof, and suddenly was dragging Naruto into the depth until only his head stuck out. Kakashi appeared before him.

"I'll give you points for guts, exchanging yourself with Sasuke, but what good did it do you?"

Naruto grinned. "That jutsu of yours is not meant to allow real travel underground, I'd say ten to fifteen feet is as far as you can go with it, so I have the home-advantage fighting below the ground. _Doton: Dochuu Senkou!_"

Now Kakashi felt a hand on his ankle as he was dragged into the earth and unlike his jutsu, he felt that he was going down deep and fast. Where the hell had Naruto learned a jutsu like this one? He felt the hand let go of his ankle and calculated his depth. The result was not good. He was at least fifty feet down, surrounded by earth on all sides. His air would soon be running out, as he hadn't inhaled very deeply, not assuming he'd be dragged to the bowels of the earth, and moving became harder with each second. He had been smart enough to keep his hands together, and now he used them to dig a small cave for them that would allow him to form handsigns. Kakashi knew that he only reason he succeeded was that Naruto's descend had softened the ground, otherwise the tons of earth pushing down on the ground beneath them would have pressed it way too hard to move. Once he had managed, he started to wonder which jutsu to use. After short consideration, he realized that he didn't have much choice. He started his chain of handsigns, mouthing "_Raikiri_" instead of saying it to conserve oxygen.

It worked, as the Lightning-chakra-covered arm moved through the earth like a normal arm through water, and Kakashi raised it directly above his head before focusing all the chakra he could currently spare into the soles of his feet. As he had hoped, the rejection pushed him upwards, the _Raikiri_ parting the earth above him.

* * *

Naruto silently cursed. The original plan had been along the line of 'grab the bells when Kakashi can't move, get them up to Sasuke, go back down and get Kakashi.' However, Kakashi had decided to change the script, using a Raiton, considering he was buried in earth a wise choice, and digging himself out. Naruto had lost a bit of finger when his hand had been caught by Kakashi's swipe, not that it hadn't healed yet, and was forced to retreat empty-handed. Then he remembered that Sasuke, or more likely Sakura if she was awake since Sasuke usually wasn't that dumb, might be standing where Kakashi would pop up from, and that could get ugly real fast. He dug up at top-speed, catching up to Kakashi's ascend after ten seconds before speeding past him, before popping out of the ground like a whack-a-mole, making him grateful nobody hammered him back down, before assessing the situation. Yep, Sakura was awake and standing right where Kakashi would pop up any second, Sasuke a few feet back. Naruto inhaled deeply. "SASUKE, GET SAKURA AWAY FROM THERE! KAKASHI IS GETTING OUT WITH A JUTSU THAT WILL GUT HER IF SHE STAYS!" He knew there'd be no point in telling Sakura to move, as A: she wouldn't believe him, B: in the unlikely case that she did, she'd freeze up, and C: She never did as she was told, unless you were a teacher. Even Sasuke couldn't do it. He had tried, but somehow, the girl had mixed 'Go away' up with 'Hug me', which taught him to keep his distance.

Sasuke reacted instantly, lunging at Sakura and pulling her away from where she stood before, and not a moment too soon, as Kakashi broke out of the earth, his visible eye wide. He hadn't thought anybody would be so stupid as to stand above the place where a jonin had sunk into the ground, but apparently, he'd underestimated Sakura again. Really, what was wrong with the girl?!

But Kakashi didn't have time to ponder the words, as Naruto charged him again. Kakashi attempted a kick, only for Naruto to duck beneath it. What happened next shocked Kakashi, as it was the last thing he had expected. Sasuke rolled over Naruto's back, using the rotation to give additional strength to the heal-drop, which nearly connected to Kakashi's shoulder when he dodged, only to see a familiar sight, as Naruto, one hand on Sasuke's shoulder, jumped over the currently crouched Uchiha and delivered a two-legged stamping-kick at Kakashi's chest, who winced as the feet impacted on his crossed arms and skidded back. He looked at the two, dodging a number of perfectly synchronized attacks. "I thought both of you would get pissed if the other one intervened."

Naruto smirked while delivering a swipe to the feet, forcing Kakashi into the air. "True, but that was when we fought alone. Both of us wanted to test our strength one-on-one, and we did."

Sasuke appeared in front of Kakashi, using the jonin's inability to dodge mid-air to send a U-punch to Kakashi's face and guts. "It didn't work, so now comes Plan B: Work together."

Kakashi pulled his head to his right to dodge the upper blow, while wiping away the hand that had once again went for the bells, as a ringing noise told him. He threw a punch, only for Naruto to lean forward and block it, giving Kakashi the impression of having hit against a piece of rock, while Sasuke regained his wits and charged from below while Naruto kept Kakashi's arms busy.

Kakashi wasn't believing his senses, these kids were working together on a level that was only achieved by those who blindly trusted each other, and their attacks would have given the average jonin a fair bit of trouble, he was a former ANBU, and able to handle it. Still, he was curious what would happen if these two were pushed. He was about to find out.

He smirked as he jumped back. "_Bunshin no Jutsu!_" A literal army of clones appeared. While they couldn't interact with the world, they were a great cover.

Sasuke cursed as his eyes darted around the the approaching clones, trying to spot the real one. "Naruto, despite all our work, I haven't unlocked my Sharingan yet, where is he?"

Naruto closed his eyes, much to the approaching Kakashi's confusion. Closing your eyes in such a situation was not that dumb, as it gave the possibility of hearing footsteps more clearly, but while Kakashi was not a master of the silent killing, he knew how to move without making a sound, so that wouldn't work. He pulled out a kunai. He'd only use the blunt side, but it would be enough to knock one out for a few minutes.

Naruto's eyes suddenly snapped open as he drew a kunai and charged at Sasuke while making a swipe that looked like it would end in Sasuke's throat. There was a sharp CLANG, and Naruto's kunai was blocking Kakashi's, Sasuke still remaining in the same spot, before dropping to all fours and kicking both legs backwards like a bucking bull. Kakashi couldn't block in time, still shocked by the amazing display of trust Sasuke had just shown, and was hit square in the chest. He flew a few feet, landing on the surface of the lake. He landed on the surface, and formed another short series of handsings. "_Mizu Bunshin_" He declared as a copy of him rose out of the waters, charging the two of them before vanishing.

Sasuke and Naruto immediately took a back-to-back position, looking for the enemy. Suddenly Sasuke dropped to the floor, the clone flying over his head with a kunai, before vanishing into water. Naruto, who wasn't even facing Sasuke or the clone, had just by the small foot-tap Sasuke had given him known what was going on and reacted by thrusting the still sheathed sword backwards, slamming the end into the clone's skull.

But it had served its purpose, as Kakashi had erected another wall of normal clones. Naruto closed his eyes before frowning. "He mixed _Mizu Bunshin_ with the normal ones, fifteen of them."

Sasuke frowned. "So what now? Do we smoke him out?"

Naruto nodded. "Seems to be the best course of action." With that, he intertwined his fingers, Sasuke jumping on it with one foot, allowing Naruto to give him a boost. And what a boost it was, as Sasuke shot into the air like a fired bullet, ascending easily a hundred feet. Naruto focused his Qi and jumped, catching up with Sasuke as Kakashi stared in disbelief. In what had to have been trained for a long time, the two genin-hopefuls floated next to each other, descending with the same speed as they flashed through handsigns. Sasuke finished first.

"_Katon: Housenka no Jutsu!_" Multiple fireballs shot out of Sasuke's mouth, aiming for the army of Kakashi-clones.

Now Naruto spoke. "_Fuuton: Reppuushou!_" A gale of wind shot out, strengthening the fireballs so that they were glowing in a pale orange bordering on yellow, but Naruto wasn't done. He focused on the wind he had created and laced with chakra, and ordered it into a different shape. Suddenly, instead of orange fireballs, numerous spinning spears of somewhat whitish fire was shooting down at the clones, each wiping dozens from existence and creating a large pillar of steam as it hit. Kakashi cursed. Whoever had written those genin-reports had to be the biggest idiot of all times. Suddenly he noticed that while he had dodged, Naruto and Sasuke had flashed through a second set of seals.

Both inhaled deeply. "_Katon: Goukakyo no Jutsu!_" Sasuke shouted, as a fireball that was a fair bit bigger than the one he had spat out before, although the Uchiha looked completely winded.

Naruto was fairing better. His cheeks bulged as he gathered more chakra in his mouth, before hitting himself on the stomach. "_Fuuton: Renkuudan!_" A ball of compressed air shot out of his mouth, and Kakashi wondered how Naruto's lungs had handled the strain without ripping, although he suspected Kyuubi had something to do with it.

But right now he had bigger worries, literally. The air bullet smashed into the fireball, and Kakashi couldn't shake the impression that someone was dropping the moon on him. A giant, white fireball three times the size of the original one, and four times the speed, was descending rapidly. Kakashi did what any man in his situation would do, he ran like hell.

The ball of Kakashi was certain couldn't be simple fire, but a piece of hell's finest inferno, impacted with the lake. Once he was a safe distance away, he stared bug-eyed at what happened to the lake. The falling star, Kakashi refused to refer to it as a fireball, had evaporated all water in the lake with a deafening hiss and dug at least ten feet into the ground, while heating all rocks that hadn't been outright annihilated to an angry red. Kakashi couldn't help but be impressed, both by the sheer feet of the action and its tactical value, as they had robbed Kakashi of any water-source, as all water flowing into the now empty lake-bed evaporated instantly from the heat-residue. Then he noticed that Sasuke and Naruto were about to hit the floor, only to slow down on the last dozen feet to softly land on the ground. Even Naruto now looked completely winded, while Sasuke was laying on his back, gasping for air. Kakashi was about to comment, when a voice rang out behind him.

"I GOT THE BELLS!"

RIIING! The time was over.

Kakashi spun around. Sakura was standing behind him, holding both bells. He looked at his belt, only to see that the strings had been cut, and judging from the small tear in his pants, it had been done by a thrown kunai or shuriken. Kakashi's eyes widened as he realized that the steam and the sheer spectacle had taken his attention off the bells, and the hissing of the evaporating water had drowned the noise of the projectile. Brilliant.

Naruto and Sasuke changed a baffled look, before Naruto whispered. "Unwritten law of shinobi-combat number five."

Sasuke nodded and both replaced their confused expressions with satisfied grins just in time to present them to Kakashi when the man's gaze fell back to them. The rule Naruto had stated happened to be: Whatever the hell happens, _that's_ what you planned.

Kakashi scratched his head. "Well, I'm impressed. Not only did you do something I would have sworn all oaths was impossible, but you also saw through the true meaning of the test, teamwork. Naruto and Sasuke made me focus all my attention on them, while using their attacks to herd me to Sakura, who used an opening to get them."

Sasuke sent Sakura a glare, which she for a change understood and wiped the surprised expression off her face before Kakashi could notice it and realize that it had merely been a giant coincident.

He looked at Naruto. "Your control over wind is amazing, you not only used it to break your fall, but you also located me and the solid clones with it through the illusionary ones, didn't you?"

Naruto was too weak to do anything but nod.

Kakashi looked at him. "And what was that display of strength, throwing Sasuke that high into the air and jumping after it? And while we're at it, how did you make the kunai shoot at me if you have no control of magnetism?"

Naruto grinned. "No shinobi worth his salt would ever give away his tricks if they're not figured out yet."

Kakashi scratched his head. " True. Well, you all passed. Tomorrow we'll meet..." He looked around and knew he needed to call in a few favors from Tenzo if he wanted to use the training-ground, which he really did, considering that not only was it close to the memorial-stone, it had also been the place where he had been taught by the Yondaime, where the Yondaime had been taught by Jiraya, where Jiraya had been taught by the Sandaime, and where the Sandaime had been taught by the Shodaime and the Nidaime. "...here, to do our first mission as team. And who gets the lunches, as I only packed two. Truth be told, I expected you to fail the first test, and use them to see if you had any comradeship, but since that's not needed, who wants them?"

Sakura's stomach growled, but somehow, it didn't feel right to claim the meals when she had done so little to support Sasuke. All three looked at each other, before Naruto spoke. "I think it's best we share them." The other two nodded and Kakashi gave a proud smile. This seemed to be going well. And he had something to brag about at the meeting!

* * *

Sarutobi sighed. Teams 1 to 6 had already failed, and Kakashi was late, what a surprise. Not only that, but some people had reported some kind of meteor impacting close to the village, which had yet to be solved. He looked at Kurenai.

"Since Kakashi isn't here, what of Team 8?" He asked.

Kurenai smiled. "They pass. They show great teamwork and show the talent to become a great tracker-team."

Sarutobi nodded. He had expected as much. He looked at his son. "Team 10?"

Asuma shrugged. "They pass. Their teamwork needs some work, as Ino bosses everyone around, but once she realized the seriousness of the situation, she worked with the team, earning them a pass."

Sasrutobi nodded, when Kakashi _shunshin_ed into the room. "Ah Kakashi, how good of you to join us. Save the excuse and tell us about Team 7."

Kakashi shrugged. "A pass with flying colors."

Multiple jonin started protesting, not really having listened to his reply. "Kakashi think it over once more, you can't fail the last... Wait, THEY PASSED?!"

Kakashi nodded. "They pass, although I'm starting to have some doubts if the entire team will work without hitches."

He heard mumbles of "The monster is holding the Uchiha back." And shook his head.

"Actually, Naruto and Sasuke work together on an amazing level, it's Sakura I'm worried about. That reminds me, who wrote the genin-reports?"

One of the academy-instructors raised his hand, and Kakashi broke his nose.

Sarutobi frowned. "Kakashi, what was that for?"

Kakashi looked at him. "Aside from the fact that those wastes of paper nearly got me butchered? According to those reports, Sakura is a 'focused young woman with great potential, a talent for genjutsu and a keen eye for what's going on', while Naruto is 'a waste of time with minor skills in taijutsu'. I go in, expecting just that, and it almost cost me my head! Naruto is a damned juggernaut, Sasuke is only a few steps behind, and Sakura is currently a useless fangirl that fainted when confronted with a D-class genjutsu."

Sarutobi raised a brow. "So they fought together?"

Kakashi looked at them. "At first no. Naruto attacked and retreated after... after he realized there'd be no point in dragging it out, Sakura was out cold, then Sasuke attacked, also using ninjutsu. I hide beneath the ground to pull him down to give a lecture, when he and Naruto switch places. Not only that, but Naruto knows a jutsu that gives him high mobility underground, dragging me at least sixty feet down. I had to use my _Raikiri_ to get out! Then the two start working together."

Sarutobi nodded. "How did they do?"

Kakashi shrugged. "I wasn't fighting two talented genin who worked together for a common goal, I fought a well-oiled machine that worked flawlessly together and in perfect synchronization. When I pulled out clones, both illusionary and ones of water, they pulled out the big guns. Naruto flinged Sasuke high into the air, jumped after him, and then they peppered me with Fuuton-Katon-collaboration-jutsu. You've probably seen their finisher, a giant ball of white flames impacting the lake at high speeds. While I was distracted, Sakura cut the strings and grabbed the bells."

Silence reigned over the meeting. Then Sarutobi spoke. "How would you judge them?"

Kakashi snorted. "Honestly? If Sakura was half as good as those two, I'd nominate my team for the jonin-exams."

Baffled stares. Then Sarutobi nodded. "I see, you're all dismissed."

Once the room was empty, Sarutobi looked at the picture of the Yondaime. "I bet you're pretty proud of your son right now, Minato."

* * *

Chapter 10 is complete. It's longer than usual, but just take it as part of my Christmas-present to you.

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYBODY! I hope you like your presents, both the ones you get and mine, these updates. I'll tell you this much, I was really pressured to get them all done, and I fear that some parts may have suffered under that strain, though I hope the results are still readable. Enjoy these chapters I updated, for I'm afraid they'll be the last for the next few years. I have been given a difficult and dangerous task that will take me to places I didn't know existed, far away from any internet-access or any other comfort of civilization. Wish me luck, there is a chance that I don't return, for I have been ordered to clean my room.

All jokes aside, I haven't cleaned the place in like a year, and there's no internet for me until it's done, so don't expect anything else from me this year. If you don't hear from me in the next few months, I have probably passed away, buried by an avalanche of stuff I had forgotten existed. So to all my readers I give you this now: HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU ALL!

Not much to say this chapter, Naruto showed a fraction of what he was capable of, and it looks pretty good. And the way he made the kunai fly at Kakashi was the same way he made the giant-shuriken lodge itself into Mizuki's back, a cookie to those who can figure out how he did it. And there's one question I really have to ask. How did you like the battle between the genin and Kakashi? I worked on that one like crazy, and changed it many times before I was happy with it.

I'm working on a tight schedule, as this is most likely the last time I get to go on the computer for the rest of the year, so I'll go strait to the reviews.

To crazymexican: As you just read, there are no changes to the teams, I have certain plans that require that setup, not to mention that any other sensei for Sasuke but Kakashi would be vetoed, unless the Sandaime volunteered, which he can't. And I'm definitely not skipping Wave, I have plans for that, revelations that need to be made, evil schemes that need to be prepared.

To Raidentensho: Thanks for the advice, I'll contact him once I get anywhere near a part that could hold a lemon.

To lightning blade49: Yeah, but they can't exactly go and teach a eight-year-old A-S-rank jutsu now can they?

To zerohour20xx: I'll consider it, though no promises. As for your jutsu, sure, I can't promise I'll use it, but I always look at what people send me. If I use it, you'll get your credit, if not, then nobody knows what it was, so as I tell everyone who asks if I'm interested in something, I'M ALWAYS INTERESTED.

To OmegaRanger: You might have found it confusing, but it's not surprising, seeing that I'm actually using both. Killing Intent, which has mental effects, is being taught by Madara, while Qi, which is boosting physical abilities, is part of the _Juggernaut_-style that Hashirama is teaching Naruto.

To shiro-wolfman-k: I know what you mean, honestly, I wasn't really happy with how it turned out myself. As for the harem, should I decide to make one, it would not have more than five members, and not all of them would be Konoha-shinobi. Those Narutoxeverygirl can be entertaining (NILF, need I say more?), but those usually go downhill pretty fast. So no, if I make a harem, it won't be a massive one like that. Also, the Guardians are finding the whole situation amusing and are waiting for Naruto to get the hint by himself. Hell, there are bets going, both inside and outside of Naruto's head, whether he will notice before Hinata snaps and just kisses him or not. Again, not necessarily the pairing, just what's happening. As for political power, he is friends with the heirs of most clans, best friends with the 'last' Uchiha, whose clan was equal to the Hyuuga, how much more political power do you want? It's not like Naruto is trying to take the hat with a political plot. And Naruto has plenty of mental and to a certain degree political skill, he's just incredibly dense when it comes to women. Okay, I haven't had much opportunity to show it yet, but Naruto is very intelligent, if he's not talking to a woman or plotting a silly prank. And I think I read the H-manga your referring to, second part out of three, right? First part Temari, second Hinata and Kurenai, third part everyone. Not my favorite story-type, but I was bored. And yes, that is just wrong. Again, don't worry about the harem-thing, and I really don't mind rambling, I love long reviews.

For this year, that's all folks, so

Please Review


	11. On the Road to Wave

Chapter 11

Disclaimer: Oh look at the last chapters, you'll get it.

* * *

"Why are we doing this again?" Naruto asked, holding the furious cat at arm's length, subtly channeling some Qi into his skin to give it a leather-like consistency, only tough enough to withstand Tora's claws and teeth. He would have used a _bunshin_, but the damned cat somehow managed to destroy every type that Naruto sent to it, so that unpleasant deed ended up on Naruto.

Kakashi sighed. "We've been through this before Naruto. Every team needs to do a minimum of D-rank missions before the higher ones become available to them. Also, you..." Kakashi caught Naruto's and Sasuke's glares "...Well some of you are not at a level that I can put a high-level mission into your hands."

All eyes wandered to Sakura, who ignored the mood and squealed when she noticed that Sasuke was looking at her. It was sad. To Kakashi's defense, he had tried everything humanly possible to get the fangirl out of her, but to no avail. The really effective ways were against Konoha-law, and the stupid council had vetoed his suggestion to let Anko work her magic to make the girl a real shinobi.

Kakashi knew that even if the team had failed their test, politics demanded they pass anyways. Not only because of the last Uchiha, but also because of the source of Team 7's current troubles, Sakura. The girl came from a civilian family with no shinobi-ties whatsoever, and she had graduated best female in her grade. She was the poster-girl to show that even those from civilian families could become real shinobi if they only tried. Sending her back to the academy would have been a slap in the face of the entire propaganda-system. But fortunately, they had passed all by themselves.

Still, beside that, Kakashi hadn't managed to make that much progress with the team. Naruto and Sasuke worked together in perfect synchronization and harmony, so there was little he could teach in that aspect. And it wasn't like they didn't allow any changes in their setup, as they had welcomed Kakashi into their realm of thought and discussion without any hassle, bouncing ideas off him and asking for advice where they needed. With those two, Kakashi felt that what he was doing was what a sensei was supposed to do, offer advice when necessary, assist with their own ideas to further their independent minds, and spot and train their weaknesses to make sure they wouldn't be used against them. Yes, Kakashi was proud of those two boys. Sakura however... The less said, the better.

Naruto sighed. "I get the basic idea, but I really don't see the point. These aren't missions, they're chores! We just do what people could do themselves yet are too lazy to. And the pay is miserable! Catching this little devil here is by far the most dangerous, challenging and well-paid mission you'll find in the entire stack of D-ranks! Seriously, once I become Hokage, this will change."

Sakura snorted, but a glare laced with a minuscule amount of Killing Intent made her stop. She looked at him. "And how would you organize this?"

Naruto shrugged. "Give the chores to the academy-students. There's little risk, they get more fresh air and learn what it feels like to earn their own money. Once they graduate, they get C-ranks. The danger is small, and that's why they get a sensei."

Kakashi looked up. "That actually doesn't sound like a bad idea. Suggest it to the Hokage. Who knows, you may have just given a good idea to improve the level of our future shinobi. Anyways, now we'll deliver the cat."

Naruto looked at the animal that had, in a lapse of Naruto's concentration, sunk its teeth into Naruto's hand. "Sasuke, flip a coin."

Sasuke raised a brow. "Why?"

Naruto looked at Tora. "Heads I reward this thing for its perseverance and drop it off close to a border, tails I roast it on a stick for all the trouble it's caused me and generations of shinobi."

Naruto's memory of the Guardians' reactions to Tora were still fresh in his memory.

* * *

_Short Flashback:_

"And here is a picture of what you are looking for." said the Hokage and showed them a photo of a tiger-striped cat with a ribbon on its ear.

Naruto heard a serious of choking-noises from his head. Minato started to mutter "Bad memories. Really bad memories from my genin-days. And a few funny ones from my sensei-days."

Hashirama was in disbelief. **"I don't believe it!"**

Madara was more verbal. _"Impossible! That hellcritter is still alive?!"_

Turns out Tora had been around for a long time, being the bane of those hired to catch it. In the days before Konoha, whoever had that mission was under the Daimyo's protection for a short while, meaning that attacks on those people were strictly forbidden. That mission had eventually ended up being taken by either the Uchiha or the Senju, with one of the two clans running after the cat while the other clan secretly tried to sabotage them. Petty really, but it gave the young ones something to do. How the cat managed to stay alive and healthy was a mystery, although some claimed that the blood it took from those that tried to grab hold of it rejuvenated it. That was the widely accepted theory, although nobody could really find out. Some had tried to dissect the cat, for various reasons, but that's a different story.

_Back to real story_

* * *

Naruto handed the cat back to an overjoyed owner, taking hidden joy in the animal's plight. Of course, he retained a professional attitude, but inwardly, he snickered. These few moments of seeing the cat suffer were the only rays of light in the entire bleak situation that were D-ranks. He usually did most of them with his clones, at least those he didn't delegate to Sakura to make the girl do some work, something that she replied with awful curses. Was the girl really so naïve? She had no idea what she had signed onto, the only thing she had known that it was a way to spend time with her crush. But Naruto's patience was wearing thin.

Sarutobi looked at his scrolls. "Let's see, for your next mission, you can mow a lawn, take care of shopping, or..."

Naruto frowned. "Sorry to interrupt jiji, but you mislabeled what you just read. Those aren't missions, they are chores that I personally feel should be delegated to the academy-students instead, since not a single one of those so-called missions requires real skill, possibly aside from catching the blasted cat. Why can't we have a real mission? I'm not even asking for something adequate for Kakashi, me and Sasuke, but is a C-rank so much to ask for?"

Sarutobi sighed. "Naruto, you did reach the minimum amount of D-ranks, but normally twice as many missions are done before a C-rank is assigned."

Now Sasuke stepped up. "True Hokage-sama, but you will admit that we are anything but normal."

Iruka spoke up. "You all barely graduated! I know you're skilled, but you can't expect to just waltz in and demand a mission from the Hokage!"

Naruto was playing with the wind, blowing a leaf in wild circles and spirals from one hand to the other. "So much paperwork. Wouldn't it be terrible if a strong gust of wind blew now and scattered all those neat stacks?"

Sarutobi's face darkened. "Naruto, blackmail is illegal."

Naruto looked up in mock-shock. "Blackmail? Me? I was just theorizing."

Sarutobi sighed. "Honestly, I'm surprised your patience lasted this long. I know that D-ranks are no challenge for you, so I expected an outburst a week ago. Looking at the team, I ask Kakashi as Team 7's leader. Do you believe that your team is ready for a C-rank?"

Kakashi shrugged. "I would say yes. Naruto and Sasuke have been itching for something that might give them a way to vent their frustrations, and Sakura should gain some insight on shinobi-life, as I feel that she isn't taking her career serious enough."

Sakura looked insulted. "I am taking this seriously!"

Naruto snorted. "You don't train. You diet. You buy makeup. You use perfume so strong that Kiba almost faints when you approach. No further questions your Honor, I rest my case."

Sarutobi and Iruka shared an exhausted look. Fangirls were a pain, and many teams with potential had been endangered, some even destroyed, by their tendencies. And both knew that the more time Sakura spent in the absolute safety of the village, the less likely it would be that she would awaken before it was too late. There was really not much room for argument, especially since Kakashi would be able to intervene before a bandit could really do damage. Who knew, it might be good for her.

The Hokage nodded. "Very well, I hereby assign Team 7 a C-rank mission. You will be acting as guards and protect the client on his journey. Please call Tazuna-san in."

Heads turned as the door opened and a old man with a straw-hat and a sake-bottle. He took a gulp from the bottle then he looked at Team 7. "What is this supposed to be? I paid for shinobi, not immature brats! They look like they're still being breastfed by their mothers!"

Naruto extended his index-finger and made a quick horizontal swipe through the air. The bottom section of Tazuna's bottle dropped to the floor, sake pooling on the floor, while cuts appeared on the man's shirt, just below the armpits, as both arms had been raised, holding the bottle and his hat respectively.

Naruto frowned. "It still needs work. A lot of work. And I'll pay for the wall."

Tazuna blinked and turned around. A horizontal gash was on the wall, right on the level of the cuts and the sliced bottle. Tazuna realized that the cut hadn't ended in front of him like he had thought, but in fact traveled on, his body being in some sort of gap in the cut.

Sasuke looked at his friend. "It looks like you're pretty good."

Naruto stared at him. "Pretty good?! The _drink_ is wasted, the _drunk_ is fine, I missed!" He looked at the suddenly very pale Tazuna. "And leaving aside the pink problem, neither of us have a mother, or any form of family that we can spend time with. Most, if not all who share our blood are dead." With that, both he and Sasuke walked towards the door, only pausing to ask for the meeting-time before leaving.

* * *

Sasuke looked at his best friend, who had called him, saying that he could now test something with Sasuke that the Hokage said he couldn't do until their first mission outside of the village. Sasuke was curious at first, which changed to confusion when Naruto pulled out a strange piece of paper. It was a noose with three paper-slips sticking out of it.

Naruto then pulled out a stick of sorts, slid it into the noose and looked at Sasuke. "Try to be careful with the wood, those things are a pain to make."

Sasuke looked at the object in his hands, blinking. "And what am I supposed to do with it?"

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Put your palms on the two ends and channel chakra into it."

Sasuke did as he was asked, feeling a bit silly, until he saw what happened next.

The right piece of paper had a split effect. A third of it caught fire, a third got crunched together while the last third got cut, wet and crumbled to dirt. The top one split in two, one half twisting into a paper snake, the other forming a triangle. But the left paper confused him. The left slip... vanished. It paled, became see-through before fading into nothingness in less than a second.

Naruto whistled. "We knew your elemental affinities, you have both Physical- and Mental-affinities, but the amazing part is that you have a Force-affinity for Void, and a pretty strong one too."

Sasuke blinked. "And what good does that do me?"

Naruto shrugged. "Force-affinities are very rare, and very powerful. As for Void, with a little bit of training, you will be able to sap your enemy's strength and chakra away. With more training, you will be able to create void, meaning you will be able to reduce solid objects to nothing. A true master could theoretically wipe cities off the map, although they would have never used their power in such a fashion, and I expect you to do the same."

Sasuke nodded eagerly, although with the prospect of such a power at his disposal, he would have agreed to dance over Konoha's main-plaza on market-day in a pink tutu. Still, such power should be treated carefully, as Sasuke already knew that power had the habit of turning against the ones who gathered it without being able to control it. Sasuke knew that it would require hard work and time to master what Naruto had described, and this time, there were no shortcuts, as even if Sasuke had the Sharingan, there were no Void-users that Sasuke could copy from, not that he wanted to copy something he didn't fully understand. He was not suicidal.

Still, this could be great, and Sasuke had never been scared of putting effort into something to get it done, it was how he had mastered all jutsu in the Uchiha-library, not that there were more than three dozen at best, due to the Uchiha-laziness, and together with Naruto had started to develop his own jutsu, although Naruto was better in that regard.

Sasuke looked at said blond. "Anything else you want to drop on me? If not, how about some instructions on how to use my new affinity?"

Naruto frowned, listening to the expert on such topics, namely Kyuubi. "Well, Kyuubi knows a few basics, but for the details, we have to go to the Void-temple."

Sasuke blinked. "The Void-temple?"

Naruto shrugged. "Apparently, back in the ages, there were ten great hidden temples where monks focused on a certain topic, starting long before jutsu were invented. Those temples were the five Elemental temples after which the country they resided in was in, namely the Fire-temple, the Water-temple, the Wind-temple, the Earth-temple and the Lightning-temple. Then there were the five Force-temples, being the Time-temple, the Space-temple, the Void-temple, the Gravity-temple and the Death-temple."

Sasuke nodded. "I've heard of the Fire-temple, one of the Daimyo's twelve Guards is there, but this is the first time I've heard of the others."

Naruto shook his head. "According to Kyuubi, that's a different temple that only took the name of that great temple. The monks that originally watched over the temples have long since faded into the streams of the ages. Still, they were masters of fuinjutsu and after the invention of ninjutsu, they gathered every technique of their temple's element or force, cataloged and explained them before storing them away for safe-keeping. They even gathered element-mix-techniques, using a different system there. Each temple had a part of the description, handsigns and way to learn them, so whoever wished to learn such a jutsu had to travel to every temple of the involved element to prove he had the determination and will to be worthy of these jutsu. Gaining entrance into those temples is by no means easy, if you don't know how, you're screwed. And if you want to enter a Force-temple, you need to use that force. The Void-temple is in Kawa no Kuni, but pretty close to our border. Back when the temples were founded, the map looked very different, so Kyuubi will need a map to correctly pinpoint the temples." He cleared his throat. "Anyways, let's get our stuff for tomorrow together, I'll give you the pointers then."

Sasuke nodded, as he had a few things to pack as well, especially his trusted blades that he had taken from the secret chamber below the secret chamber of the Uchiha-clan. He had developed a style of fighting with them that Naruto had joked was somewhere between a elegant dance and a circus-performance. True, the word trick-hitter would come closer to describing it than anything else, and it had been a while since he had a good fight against someone that was not blond and whiskered. A shame that it would only be bandits at best, but one could dream, right?

* * *

The next day saw three genin who against better knowledge had decided to come at the agreed time, just in case their sensei would not be late on missions, since timing on those was critical. Of course, Kakashi Hatake could say that he was always on time when it really mattered, but for a measly C-rank? Please.

So they were sitting, in Naruto's and Sasuke's case discussing things while having a light spar, while Sakura, who was ignored every time she tried to use the words 'Sasuke', 'me' and 'date' in the same sentence, watched heart-eyed as Sasuke showed his 'coolness', even though Naruto was usually a step ahead of him. Still, if Sasuke had pulled out his blades, the odds might even out more, but they had agreed on no jutsu and no weapons to make sure they didn't hurt themselves right before a mission.

Naruto and Sasuke were just taking a break, drinking a bit of water and sharing some food amongst themselves when Kakashi showed up, their client in tow.

"YOU'RE LATE!" Sakura shouted, and all within a fifty-foot-range were busy trying to get the ringing out of their ears for a full minute before their hearing stabilized.

Kakashi cleared his throat. "Now that we're all together, let's get going. By the way, Naruto, Sasuke, where are your backpacks?"

Naruto and Sasuke exchanged a glance before Naruto moved his coat, a dull-gray one this time, revealing a few scrolls. "We got it covered." they spoke as one.

Kakashi nodded and they walked through the gates. But in Naruto and Sasuke's head, all alarms had just gone off as they looked at their client. They hadn't been able to tell yesterday because the man had been drunk as fuck, but now that he was sober, the trained eye could easily see that the man was very, very nervous. The two boys had made a game out of observing people and guessing their thoughts, and they were great at it. Tazuna looked like a man plagued by a bad conscience, but determined to keep it under wraps. This trip might not be as boring as they originally thought.

* * *

"Please elaborate again. Why are we here?" A voice asked.

Another one moaned. "We've been over this three times Nanashi. We found those two Kiri-nuke-nin lying in a pathetic ambush, and since they ignored us, we just want to know who they were waiting for."

The newly dubbed Nanashi looked at the man. "Dogo, that is not what the Tsuchikage ordered. Your orders were to accomplish our mission, while I am to watch over Shirayuki-sama and keep her safe so that she gains insight into the duty of a shinobi, which we all accomplished. Afterwards we are to return to Iwa immediately. We are on Konoha-territory, and any misbehavior may cause a war." He stated, his voice emotionless.

A third man looked up. "Someone's coming." All eyes went towards the road as a small group of people approached.

Dogo growled. "That's Kakashi Hatake! Koga, are my eyes playing tricks on me or is the Copy-ninja walking down that road?!"

Koga nodded. "I see him too. And look at that _blond_ brat! What do you say Odan, Gido, should we let them pass?"

The man named Gido sneered. "Never! For the glory of Iwa, they will all die!"

Nanashi spoke up. "That would be a direct violation of our orders. And Kakashi is a A-ranked ninja."

Odan snorted. "So are you. What's your point? Do your thing and weaken them, we'll handle the rest."

Nanashi didn't even turn to him. "I refuse. This does not concern me."

Dogo spoke up. "Yes it does. You're going to go out there, or I slit the girl's throat." And indeed, a maybe ten-year old girl with brown pigtailed hair was squirming in Dogo's grip.

Nanashi's voice was cold as ice. "The girl is the daughter of the head of Iwa's council, I suggest you drop her."

Dogo sneered. "It's your job to protect her. And I can slit her throat faster than you can pull off any funny business. Now go out there or my hand slips!"

Nanashi's voice was stoic, yet sharp as a blade. "You understand that there will be consequences, right?"

Odan spat out. "Just get out there!"

* * *

Things had been peaceful, as their journey had gone without any kind of trouble so far, causing even Kakashi and Sasuke to relax. Maybe Tazuna was just nervous because he had been cheating on his wife or something, as there was no sign of trouble. Still, they stayed on guard.

Sakura on the other hand made conversation with everyone that didn't tune her out, treating the entire thing like a field-trip, driving the real shinobi on the team insane.

Naruto was taking the constant nagging even worse than Sasuke, as he seemed strangely stiff, and Sasuke knew he was trying to stop himself from putting his hands around Sakura's neck and squeezing as tight as he could. But there was another reason for Naruto's tenseness. He had a strange feeling, there was something in the air that he couldn't place. His wind-sonar would do him little good with the dense foliage, as it was currently limited to showing him where something was, but not what or even what shape or size. Still, he was getting shivers down his spine, and the hairs on the back of his neck started to rise. He raised a hand, causing the others to pause.

"Something is wrong here." Naruto stated.

Kakashi frowned. He had felt some bad vibes a second ago, but he didn't think anyone else would have noticed it. "What do you mean?" He asked, just to make sure.

Naruto's eyes darted around. "We're not alone." Suddenly his eyes focused on a patch of foliage twenty feet in front of them.

There were a few rustles of leaves, and then a odd figure stepped onto the road. The first notable thing about the person was that you didn't see anything of him or her. She was wearing a long snow-white robe that reached his ankles. The sleeves were so long that you couldn't see the hands, although part of that reason may have been that the hands were in the opposite sleeves, giving the image of a single sleeve that went from one shoulder to the other like a straitjacket. His feet were in white socks and sandals, while the also white hood of the coat hid the figure's head. The face was covered by a featureless white porcelain mask without any decoration. There were only two things on that mask that gave the eye anything to cling to. The two slits that were the eye-holes, too small to let those looking at it see anything of the wearer's eyes, and a carving that was where the forehead had to be. The carving stylized rocks. The mark of Iwa.

Kakashi's eye narrowed and he drew a kunai while his other hand wandered up to his Konoha-headband after giving Tazuna a signal to back away.

Sakura looked around, confused at the sudden change in the atmosphere. "Kakashi-sensei, who is that?"

Kakashi ignored her. "What is Iwa's white Butcher doing here?"

The figure's head tilted to the side. "I dislike that title." Came the calm reply.

Kakashi's gaze didn't waver. "Would you prefer I call you Lord Poison?"

Naruto's hand had slid towards his sword. He had sworn himself that he would only draw it outside of practice if he was forced to... or if he would end lives. "Kakashi-sensei, I don't have a recent Bingo-book from Iwa. Who is that?"

Kakashi nodded, his eyes glued on the figure in front of them. "He's a A-ranked Hunter-nin from Iwa. I'm not surprised you haven't heard of him, before last year, nobody knew he existed."

Sasuke was curious. "What happened?"

"Iwa has a number of vassal-shinobi-villages that pay tributes and lend their shinobi to them whenever needed. Their biggest, Areno (wasteland), gathered followers and decided to rebel against them, to become the leading village in Tsuchi no Kuni. The Tsuchikage sent one man to deal with the rebellion. Him." Kakashi answered, before adding "There were no survivors. That man is dangerous, and deserving of his titles. If you want to find him in a Bingo-book, look for _Nanashi the Scourge_."

Nanashi lowered his head. "It's nothing that I'm proud of. I had orders, I fulfilled them. Nobody suffered, that is all I can say in my defense."

Naruto narrowed his eyes. "Okay, I get that you are a dangerous enemy, but that doesn't answer sensei's first question. What is someone like you doing here?"

Nanashi bowed. "I apologize in advance, it is neither personal nor wanted on my part." With that, he thrusted his hands forward, Naruto having enough time to see that they were in white gloves, before calling out "_Fugukiri no Jutsu._"

Purple vapor shot out of the sleeves, and before the four shinobi could jump back, four more figures shot out of the woods and charged them forming handsigns, each of them equipped with a gas-mask and aiming for a different victim. They only halted to tap the ground, causing walls to rise that trapped each person with one enemy, and a atmosphere of 60% poison and 40% air. The visibility was fairly low, and the Iwa-nins were determined not to let those from Konoha escape. The only one outside of the vapor was Tazuna, who had been twenty feet back and immediately retreated further as the white-cloaked figure had moved.

Now it was one on one for the shinobi.

* * *

Naruto looked at his enemy, a bit baffled. The man was big, pale, muscled and wearing a gas-mask. But that was not why Naruto was wondering if there was a hallucinogen that Kyuubi didn't break down in this vapor. No, what confused Naruto was that his enemy was holding a girl maybe two years younger than him in his arm, though hanging her from her neck would be more appropriate. The girl, also wearing one of those nifty masks, was struggling and obviously trying to remove the man's arm from her throat.

Naruto scratched his head. "Not sure you noticed, but I don't know that girl, so there's little point in using her as a hostage."

The man snorted. "She's not for you, she's an insurance to make sure Nanashi doesn't flood this place with poison that is absorbed through the skin."

Naruto tilted his head. "So frankly, you use her as a hostage to make that Nanashi-guy do what you want. Is that even his name? Nanashi means _nameless_, if I'm not mistaken."

The man shrugged. "Nobody knows anything about the man, not even his name, but the nickname kinda stuck."

Naruto looked at him. "So, two questions. Why are we making civil conversation since you obviously intend to attack me, and what problem do you have with us?"

The man laughed. "Kakashi Hatake murdered many good men from Iwa, this is payback. I'd kill him myself, but I chose you instead."

Naruto snorted. "I'm flattered, but I don't swing that way."

Amazingly, the man didn't react to the taunt. "I chose you because nature pulled a bad prank on you kid. You look just like the Yondaime, and that man I always wanted to tear to shreds. If you meet him in hell, tell him Dogo Naiwato claimed your head! And why I'm talking? Because the longer I talk, the more poison you inhale! You're paralyzed by now! DIE!"

With that, he tossed the girl aside, drew a blade resembling a butcher's knife and charged Naruto with a battle-cry, obviously not expecting any resistance.

Naruto sighed, his hand sliding to his sword. He had heard enough. Then he vanished.

Dogo halted his charge and stared. What had just happened? Blond-haired kids don't just vanish into thin air. Then he heard a sound behind him.

TSCHINK.

He turned his head and saw the bow, who apparently had just sheathed his blade. When did he draw it? And how did he get behind him in the first place? A crimson spray interrupted Dogo's train of thought. His eyes slowly wandered to his chest. A long cut going from his left shoulder to his right hip appeared on his body, and it was not a shallow cut, but a gashing wound that nearly split him in half. With his last strength, Dogo turned his head to the boy who had slain him and asked, blood pouring from his lips due to the destroyed lungs and additionally some of the blood from the parted heart flowing into said lungs. "How?"

Naruto gave him a cold look. "You overestimated yourself and underestimated me. You forced your better to lend you strength, and mistook it for your own, believing yourself invincible. You were cocky, so you lost." Naruto turned around, not even bothering to see the man's final moment as he collapsed, instead looking at the girl, and after seeing that she was both unharmed and posed no threat, he turned towards the wall. He was curious how the others were doing.

* * *

Kakashi looked at his enemy. The tall and unnaturally thin man who had introduced himself as Gido, the cannon-fodder of Iwa always did have a tendency to talk, was shooting sharp rock-fragments at him. He dodged around them, cursing his luck. Normally he would have spread that scarecrow over the ground by now, but he was trying to conserve as much oxygen as possible to be able to assist his genin after taking out this guy, so right now, he was fighting on taijutsu alone.

Only now that he was surrounded by poison that he didn't want to get in contact with his eye did he realize how much he had been depending on his Sharingan in the past. That lesson had cost him a scratch on the cheek, something which he normally wouldn't even notice, but to receive it from such a amateur wielding a sickle was a humiliation that Kakashi would not allow to stand. The man had payed for his scratch, as a long gash on his arms spilled his precious blood to the floor. But the man didn't care, he merely charged Kakashi with speeds that were impressive, hadn't his opponent been a skilled veteran.

Kakashi ducked and jumped left, avoiding a strike that would have opened his throat. This guy simply had more strength than Kakashi estimated. Either he had given this guy too little credit, or... "Soldier-pills." It was a waste of oxygen, but Kakashi was willing to take it.

The man laughed. "You're half-right. Yes, I'm chewing soldier-pills, but that's not all. There are also a few pills, we call them _Berserkers_. They give strength, but that's not the most important thing. They remove all sense of pain, so you can rip out my arm and I'll still fight you with the same vigor. You on the other hand will breathe, and then I'll kill you while you can't move!" With that, the man charged again.

Kakashi mentally swore. He hated that stuff. Iwa made those pills, keeping the recipe a closely-guarded secret, and had used them in the last shinobi-war, with great success. Not only were their men fighting when the enemy had believed them dead, it was also a major morale-drain to have men that you have just relieved of their limbs and burned to a crisp mock you while charging. Even if you nailed them in the heart, they kept fighting for half a minute before their brains finally got the memo that they were dead. Kakashi himself had once buried a _Raikiri_ in man's chest, only for that same man to try to cut his throat, completely unphased by the hole in his torso. The only way to slay them was to destroy the brain, cut off the head, or sever the spine. And now he was facing another one of those pests.

Jump, dodge, counter, dash to the side, another counter, it was not that difficult to stay on top for Kakashi, it was just that the man protected his head, neck and vitals while recklessly swinging his sickle around. Kakashi had already covered him in cuts, but it just wasn't enough to keep the sonuvabitch down. Now annoyed, he ducked under another swipe, before pulling on the arm and using the imbalance of his enemy to slam his knee against the man's face, sending him flying. It did not do that much damage, but Kakashi simply couldn't take the man's smug look any longer.

As expected, the man picked himself off the floor after a few seconds, although he seemed a bit wobbly, and charged Kakashi again, the mask regrettably still intact and on his face. What happened next surprised Kakashi.

The man stumbled and fell to the floor, right before Kakashi's feet. 'Okay,' The silver-haired nin thought, scratching his head 'that was anticlimactic.'

The Iwa-nin was equally confused. "What did you do? Why can't I move?!"

Kakashi shrugged, before he got an epiphany. They were still surrounded by the poisonous mist, and while the man's clothing proved that it wasn't absorbed by the skin, it probably sickered into the man's blood through the countless wounds on the man's body, and because of the pills, this Gido missed all warnings, driving his body until it could do no more, all the movement doing a wonderful job of quickly spreading the poison in his body.

Kakashi, not being one to look a gift horse in the mouth, quickly sliced the helpless man's neck open, knowing that anything else would be too risky. He was worried. Granted, it was only a scratch, but he was feeling just a little bit ill, and wasn't sure just how much poison had entered his bloodstream. But right now, he had bigger worries, namely his team.

* * *

Sasuke looked at his enemy. The man was a mountain of muscles, as wide as he was tall, around 5 feet, with a very pronounced lower jaw, judging from the way the mask sat on his face, and no hair. He was slowly going through handsigns, never taking his eyes off Sasuke, who had drawn two of his blades.

Sasuke on the other hand was worried. He had inhaled a bit of the gas and was feeling dizzy, although it was not too bad, yet. He could hold his breath for almost ten minutes, having trained that with Naruto and actually beating the blond's record by three seconds, but he was still well-advised to finish this fight ASAP.

The Iwa-nin grinned. "_Doton: Iwa Yoroi no Jutsu!_" Rocks rose from the ground and covered him with a thick layer of stone, making him resemble a golem. Sasuke raised a brow, before jumping back as a fist dug into the ground he had been standing on a moment before. Despite its size, the damned thing was pretty quick.

Sasuke ground his teeth. Not only did he lack physical strength to take on this foe, but one of his favorite tricks was blocked. It was something he and Naruto used against their B-ranked prey, they taunted them, made some smalltalk while waiting for the opening that _always_ came when one was patient enough. But if he opened his mouth now, he would be signing his own death-penalty.

The other man knew this as well, as he tried to goad Sasuke into speaking while swinging his massive arms at him. "What's wrong little boy, scared of the big bad rockman? You know, I'll teach you that technique, all you have to do is ask. What, not interested? I swear on my honor that I'll teach you all I know if you just ask. I mean seriously, as weak as you look, you need all the help you can get. Not like your wimp of a father or your whore of a mother could have taught you anything useful."

A second later he had to raise his arms to prevent Sasuke's two daggers from stabbing out his eyes, the only weak-point of his armor. Before he could retaliate, Sasuke had already used the arm as a springboard and jumped to safety. As he couldn't speak, he left it at giving the rockpile the finger.

The man seemed angered, as Sasuke noted with satisfaction, waving the still extended middle-finger in a way that cleary stated '_Come and get me, pussy._'

The man complied, and Sasuke was once again sliding his way into his guard. He used his daggers on the man's arms, but the rock was too thick to penetrate. Sasuke made another move for the eyes, but his enemy found a simple solution. He closed his eyes and the blade-tips bounced off pieces of rock that had moved with the eyelids. Sasuke wanted to curse as he was forced to jump back to avoid the two arms that slammed together in the boxer-stance to squash him, but had to shield his eyes from the shrapnel.

That blind second cost him, as his opponent had used the chance and delivered an uppercut that Sasuke was glad to have blocked, or it would have broken something or, in this situation even worse, knocked the wind out of him, forcing him to inhale the vapors. Still, his arms HURT! Time to get serious. He already had a plan, all he had to do was make sure the other one played along.

The man grinned. "Tag. You're it."

He charged his blades with chakra and made cuts at him, which actually left some cuts on the armor, although it didn't completely penetrate. Still, it was enough to get his opponent on edge, who was now a lot more focused on Sasuke's movements. Still, his honor forbade him from backing away from a brat, so he charged again, intending to simply ram the boy with his body before dropping and squashing him like the bug he was.

Sasuke reacted by jumping on the man's head, tacking a exploding-tag on the back of said head and jumping off. The golem-wannabe turned without noticing anything, and was confused when he saw the black-haired kid making a gesture not unlike the one dog-trainer's used when they wanted to say SIT. A second later, the tag exploded and he was sent face-first into the dirt.

While Sasuke was not naïve enough to believe his enemy defeated, but he knew he'd be pissed, and therefore sloppy, after that little stunt. God, he had been spending too much time with Naruto.

While the man was still gathering his bearings, Sasuke charged him, doing a ridiculously simple X-swipe. His opponent immediately raised both arms to block before the blades got too close to the currently only lightly-armored head. This was what Sasuke had been waiting for, as he rammed his knee into the man's chin. The Iwa-nin hadn't noticed, but Sasuke had let go of one of his blades while drawing his third one. The blade he dropped was sticking to the knee, charged with Lightning-chakra.

The Lightning-chakra, being the best choice for piercing-attacks and superior to earth by nature, easily broke the armor, allowing the long dagger it was charged into to pierce into the man's brain.

Sasuke smirked, and despite knowing it would cost him a minute or so of air, he couldn't resist whispering "Tag. You're dead."

The Iwa-nin collapsed, Sasuke drawing his blade out of the chin just before he fell, before cleaning it with the man's now re-exposed shirt, before wondering how on earth he was supposed to scale the wall that separated him from fresh air. To make matters worse, he was starting to feel really awful. The adrenaline was wearing off, and Sasuke realized he may have inhaled more poison than he originally thought. Still, this was the worst possible place to collapse, so he made his way to the earth wall.

* * *

Sakura didn't understand what was happening. One minute they were walking peacefully down the road, the next she was alone with an Iwa-nin in a space with low visibility and no chance for help, although the man had done nothing more than look at her so far. And it almost hurt to breathe.

The man before her was probably in his late forties to early fifties, fat with a mop of black hair that looked slimy. All in all, he was gross, and she was sure he was smiling under his gas-mask. Then she realized something. The man was wearing a gas-mask! Then this wasn't just a smoke-screen!

The man had obviously guessed her thoughts. "Yep, this is more than colored smoke. From the way you were hyperventilating, you should be paralyzed by now."

True to his words, Sakura felt her legs give way under her and she fell to her back, her eyes being the only thing she could move.

The man laughed. "You gotta hand it to Nanashi, he knows how to mix a poison, huh? Never found out how he did it, but I don't really care." He looked at her. "I've been watching your little group, and I immediately spotted you out. Do you know why?" He obviously wasn't expecting an answer. "You see, there are a few things Konoha is known for. Of course they had skilled shinobi, but there's something else they have that no other village does. And that's girls like you."

Sakura blinked. What was he talking about?

He seemed only too eager to explain. "You see, we've never met, right? Still, I bet I can describe you. You have a crush on a boy, the way you were acting it's the black-haired one in your team, and he is the main reason you became a shinobi. You take care of your body, but not in a exercising-way, but by washing often and using different lotions, shampoos and perfumes. You give your hair a lot of attention. Your written grades were probably pretty good, but your physical state was not impressive. Because you don't like getting sweaty, you never practiced at home, instead spending time with your friends. You did the barest physical requirement, maybe even less, but you made up with it with grades and maybe chakra-control. You didn't do the exercises for chakra outside of school either, because you could already do them without problems, right?"

Sakura was shocked. That was an amazingly accurate description! Could this guy read minds?

The man answered her unspoken question. "I'm not psychic. I simply described the basic fangirl, something no other village has. Of course there are girls swooning over boys in other villages, but they don't get to be shinobi. You see, I'll list your problems for you. You were so efficient with your chakra because you have very little chakra. If I had to guess, I'd say that you could do ten _K__awarimi no Jutsus_, tops. A real genin in Iwa is expected to be able to keep doing that for at least an hour. In every other village, a girl that has talent gets her fangirl eliminated immediately before she becomes a danger to herself and others. Konoha on the other hand just lets them out into the world, much to the joy of certain people. You see, female Konoha genin have the highest rate of rape and death by far. You have almost four times as many casualties in that regard than anyone else. Let me put it in simple terms: You are too weak to defend yourself in any way, and get your teammates in danger when they try to help you, which in the current situation is less than likely."

Sakura had tears in her eyes, but the man wasn't done.

"You may ask yourself why I am telling you all this, since you're about to die anyways. Nanashi's poison does more than paralyze your body, it will also stop your lungs long before anything else shutting off can kill you. The answer is very simple. I want you to know why you are going to die."

Sakura whimpered.

The man looked at her. "Aw, don't worry, old Odan here is not a monster. He won't let you die a virgin."

Sakura's eyes widened at those words. 'My first time? With him? No! No, I'd rather die!' She desperately tried to move, but the poison had done it's job.

Odan grinned. "You know, I really love it when I'm inside of the girls while they suffocate, they get really tight. And the best part is, I don't even have to choke you, all I have to do is wait." He touched her leg. "Your skin is really soft. This will be fun."

Sakura could do nothing while the man was touching her, even when his tongue slid over her cheek to lick her tears. His breath smelled horrible, and Sakura felt horribly violated. Then he took a step back, and for a moment Sakura clung to the ridiculous hope the man had only been kidding, until she saw one hand reaching between her legs and throwing up her dress to reach for her pants, while the other one moved to his pants. A merciful god gave her unconsciousness that moment.

* * *

Odan frowned when he saw the girl slump together. It was too soon for her to be dead, so she had probably fainted. Not a problem, he'd fix that in a second. His left hand reached for the pants, while his right one was trying to open his belt. He took his eyes off the girl for a moment, giving the belt his full attention. The stubborn thing finally opened and Odan grinned. He looked back at the girl... and his eyes widened.

His hand! His hand was gone! All that was left was a stump, ending right at his wrist. How had that happened?! He jumped up when he heard a voice behind him.

"Now will you notice me?"

Odan spun around. He saw that blond kid, a black sword in one hand, the blade's back lazily resting on his shoulder. His entire posture was relaxed, but Odan was still cautious.

"Where did you come from? I didn't even notice you!"

The boy shrugged. "There's something else you haven't noticed."

Odan sneered. The boy had managed to get the drop on him, big deal. "Oh yeah? What?"

As soon as the question left his lips, a fine trickle of blood started to run down the middle of his forehead, down the bridge of his nose and over the gas-mask. When it dropped from the chin, more trickles came from his forehead, like water flowing over a dam.

Naruto smirked. "You're already dead."

The gas-mask fell to the floor in two pieces, the body following them with a second's delay.

Naruto ignored the bloody display, instead opting to look at Sakura. A few bloodstains from that man's stump, but otherwise she was fine. Well, as fine as one can be poisoned.

Still, Naruto was tense. He had tried calling on the wind, only to find that the poisonous cloud seemed to have a mind of its own, as it refused to be blown away. He could get it in motion just fine, but nothing more. He couldn't blow a hole into it to get some fresh air, and he couldn't blow it out of the prison either. On a different note, the earth walls around him had crumbled with the last man's death, so he guessed that now all those who had pulled it up were dead. Then he felt it. He raised his voice.

"You're really good. I didn't even sense you coming before a second ago."

The white figure shrugged. "I didn't expect you to sense me at all. On a different note, what happened to the girl?"

Naruto knew he wasn't talking about Sakura. "She might be a little shaken from watching someone die so swiftly and brutally, but otherwise she should be fine."

Nanashi nodded. "You have my thanks."

Now that Naruto was standing only a few feet away from Nanashi, he noticed that the figure was only a few inches taller than him. A information he'd make sense out of later. Now he was focused on Nanashi's sleeves, as he thought he had just seen something reflective vanish into their depths. And it made sense that this guy could do more than shoot paralyzing mist from his sleeves to become a A-rank. Still, he didn't look like he was planning an attack, if anything, Nanashi looked like he had intended to strike down the other guy, until said slob fell into two opposite directions. Nanashi tilted his head, the only way he could show confusion.

"Forgive my rudeness, but why are you still standing?"

Naruto grinned. "From the name of your jutsu, I'm guessing this mist is composed of TTX. I eat TTX for breakfast, brush my teeth with cyanide and rinse my mouth with Sarin."

"Catevari?"

Naruto blinked. "Gesundheit."

Nanashi nodded. "In any case, I apologize for wasting your precious time." He made a short bow, his arms again folding together, before throwing something at Naruto.

He caught it and looked at a small bottle holding a clear liquid.

Nanashi bowed again. "The antidote to the poisonous mist. By itself, it is not toxic, so you do not have to dose it too carefully, although I suggest at least half the bottle for the girl. I assume you are on a mission, and she has inhaled a large dosage so that, without it, she will be dead in a few minutes. See it as a compensation for all the trouble that my fellow shinobi have caused you. Or, if you do not trust me, you can simply ensure your teammates' hearts and lungs keep working until the poison wears off, which will be in exactly 24 hours, give or take an hour. But you will find the antidote the quicker solution." He turned towards the direction where Naruto had slain the other guy, before pausing. "One more thing. Behind a tree twelve feet to your left, you will find two unconscious Missing-nin from Kiri. We found them lying in a poor excuse for an ambush, and were curious who they were waiting for. They should wake up in around ten minutes, perhaps they can give you information useful for your own mission, on which I wish you the best of luck. Perhaps we'll meet again some day. But for now, farewell." With that, he vanished and Naruto blew the mist away with a strong gust.

Kakashi and Sasuke were beside him in a second, both apparently suffering from mild poisoning. Naruto looked at the bottle in his hand, before deciding that there would be little point in poisoning people who were already doomed to die by poison. Sakura got the largest dose injected venally with a Syringe that Sasuke had packed just for the heck of it, the other two taking smaller doses for themselves while Naruto went for the Kiri-shinobi.

After all the trouble caused by them, he wanted answers.

* * *

Chapter 11 is done. This was 90% finished for weeks, but I couldn't finish.

Sorry to all my readers for the long lack of updates, but my computer crashed so badly it had to be carted away for professional repairs, so I was left without one for a while. I did manage to reach the Internet occasionally by utilizing friends, but those either wouldn't let me write, or plainly couldn't be trusted with the data of my chapters and no supervision. So I had to wait until the computer returned to restart my writing.

The second bad news is that my final exams are quickly approaching, so I will be busy going through two years of material in three topics, followed by having to prepare a presentation and prepare for a non-written exam, so I have no idea if I'll have any time to write on my stories for a while. Thanks for your understanding.

Leaving these bleak news aside, what do you think? Since I have plans for Haku, I have to do the Wave-arc, but that doesn't mean they'll have to face the demon-brothers, who I can honestly say would be a joke against Naruto, Sasuke and Kakashi. And yes, Nanashi will be important later on. How? Take a guess.

This whole operation with the Iwa-nin had the purpose, aside from introducing Nanashi, to wake up Sakura. There was no other way to go but to actually confront her with the threat of rape and death to get her to work. You can come up with the best training in the world, if the one you're intending to train doesn't want to, you're wasting your time. And having Naruto doing the wake-up call wouldn't work, because even if it got Sakura to train, it would make Naruto the enemy in her view, irreversibly ruining any and all teamwork that might and should exist. And yes, starting next chapter, Sakura is going through hell, and with a few tricks from Naruto plus tenant, that can be taken quite literally. And yes, the temples will be visited later on.

And to clarify things; I said that the pairing won't become Naru/Maria due to their personalities, but that doesn't necessarily mean nothing will happen between them. Maria is selfish enough to wait till he's older and drag him somewhere when she feels like it. There's just not that much romantic potential if you're partner likes to literally eat you as much or more than he wants to hold you, and I don't care how much Twilight claims otherwise.

Now to the jutsu I invented this chapter.

_Doton: Iwa Yoroi no Jutsu_ (Earth Release: Rock Armor Technique)  
Rank: B  
Range: Short (0m)  
Type: Defensive/Support  
This jutsu is commonly used by jonin of Iwagakure, more rarely by chunin due to the high chakra-costs. It uses surrounding sediment to form a crude yet strong and surprisingly light armor around the caster, blocking attacks. For a long time considered as a near-ultimate defense, blocking blunt, piercing, cutting and burning-damage, protecting against Katon, Fuuton, other Doton and to a certain degree Suiton-attacks. It's weakness against Raiton was discovered when Iwa first attempted to gain ground in Kaminari no Kuni, the armor with the shinobi in them shredded by the defenders' lightning. A second weakness is that the armor is formed by the surrounding earth, so using this jutsu in areas with high magnesium-concentrations, or deserts can and will compromise the armor's protection. Finally, the armor has a single weak-point, namely the eyes, as protecting these would lead to blindness while in effect. Nowadays this jutsu is rarely used.

_Fugukiri no Jutsu_ (Fugu Mist Technique)  
Rank: A  
Range: Middle (5-25m)  
Type: Offensive  
This jutsu creates a thick vapor of Tetrodotoxin, or TTX for short, commonly found in pufferfish, which causes complete paralysis of the body and most internal organs, causing death by suffocation or heart-failure. The brain is not affected, meaning that the victim can remain conscious and clear-minded, but unable to move or speak. However, if blood-circulation and breathing can be sustained for 24 hours, the poison will be removed by the body, although the dosage may cause variations in the amount of time required. This jutsu requires extensive knowledge in poisons and very precise chakra-control, resulting in its high rank despite only having the chakra-cost of a mid-to-high-class C-rank.

Now, onto the reviews.

To shiro-wolfman-k: First, thanks for the long review, I love those. Second, why does everyone, despite me saying it won't happen almost every chapter, think that I have nothing better to do than ruin my story by trying to squeeze more girls onto Naruto than the boy could possibly take, clones or no clones. While that can be fun for a short while, it gets old pretty fast, it ruins plots as it's simply not possible to evolve so many relationships, and trying is usually more than most can handle. IF this becomes a harem, the number of members is very unlikely to exceed five, and will likely stay below that. And I'm not sure if Hinata actually lives with Kurenai, but I don't think she was officially disowned, as the Hyuuga have the habit of slapping seals on disowned members' foreheads. Consider it, a disowned member of a clan can hypothetically denounce the clan on the reasoning that it has cut all ties with him, and move somewhere else. The Hyuuga fear the loss of their monopoly on the Byakugan, which is why they make those people servants and prevent them from actually going through with that, as it would have lethal consequences for them. And officially Hinata is still the heir, as I don't think Neji would have so much hatred to a disowned Hyuuga, seeing them both as wronged or tormented by the clan. Gore17 has left a review in which he states to you that he shares my opinion, check it out if you have the time. And Kiba/Hina in this story is as likely as orange polka-dotted penguins flying over the Sahara.

To litewarior4: You can't force someone to commit seppuku, it's kinda going against the whole point of the act. And any pairing with Naruto is still far away, so don't panic. The kid is twelve!

To Kojiro Kun: No, that part of Katekyo Hitman Reborn stays were it is. It will not go into my story. Pity is something shinobi ignore on a regular basis, and never stronger than self-preservation.

To buzzbumble: Why Team 7 is the same? Because I felt like it, that's why. One of the privileges of being the author of a story is that you get to decide what happens in that story. And as I wrote to litewarior4, the pairing is still a good distance away.

To pokemaster12: YES! My point exactly! It's not overpowering! Itachi was a prodigy, yes. So? I made Naruto and Sasuke prodigies as well, and I haven't started with the ridiculous power-ups that come with the Forces yet, as that has to be learned as well. And thanks for your suggestions, I'll see what I can do.

To jedielfsorcerer: Yes, Naruto and to a certain degree Sasuke will involve themselves with Sakura's training, Kakashi taking the lion's share of it.

For now, that's everything, so

Please Review


	12. Fighting and a Heart to Heart

Chapter 12

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto  
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

With a groan, Sakura opened her eyes. The roof of a tent looked back, glowing red in what had to be either the setting or the rising sun. Her entire body felt numb, and every nerve was tingling. Why was she laying on the ground?

The last thing she remembered was walking next to their client. This white-cloaked figure had shown up, then more. There had been a purple cloud, and high earth-walls, and then...

She tried to shoot up, but she was too weak. She whimpered, knowing that her innocence was gone. She wanted to cry. A hand touched her shoulder, and Kakashi-sensei's voice rang in her ears.

"Calm down Sakura. Everything is fine. Lie down and go back to sleep if you can, you're out of the woods, but you're still not well yet."

She looked at him, tears in her eyes. "Where are..."

Kakashi eye-smiled. "We are currently around five miles from where we were attacked, on a clearing roughly a hundred feet or so off the road. The Iwa-nin are gone, most are dead. Nanashi scooped up the girl and left, after donating us the antidote to the poisonous mist. Naruto and Sasuke are outside, keeping an eye on our surroundings. See? No reason to worry."

Sakura now openly cried. "Sensei, I...I-I'm..."

Now Kakashi became more serious. "Your innocence is still intact, if that's what you're worried about. The man who wanted to rape you was killed before he could actually go through with his plan."

She wanted to hug him. "Thank you sensei, I don't know what I would have..."

Kakashi raised a hand. He knew what she would have done. It would have ended either in eventual suicide or in a strong, but very bitter kunoichi, Kakashi had seen both things happen plenty of times. "I'm not the one you should thank. It was Naruto who saved you."

"Naruto?" Sakura asked, the very thought of the blond-haired brat she disliked out of envy for his close relationship with Sasuke saving her life and modesty almost beyond her comprehension.

Kakashi nodded. "Yes. And now you should sleep, we have a difficult day ahead of us tomorrow."

She nodded and closed her eyes. She had a lot to think about.

-0-

Kakashi left the tent, to find Naruto sitting on a large rock towering above their tent, providing at least some cover, as the tent's color could be adjusted with a bit of chakra. Nothing fancy, but it could fit itself into a jungle, desert or mountainous setting, the last one currently being the activated one.

"How is she?" Naruto asked without opening his eyes. He was using his wind-radar to track even the smallest abnormality in the currents, whether those be an attacker or a flying senbon, and it was taking a lot of concentration. Sasuke was leaning on the rock, scanning the foliage Naruto's wind could not yet scan.

"She'll be fine." Kakashi answered. "She'll probably be up well before dusk. The only question is, what will we do then?" He looked at their client, who was sitting a bit to the side, close enough to protect in an emergency, but far enough to not intrude into the shinobi's privacy.

They had found out from the two ex-Kiri-nin the Iwa-nin had left behind that the millionaire Gatou was after his life, and logically that he had lied about the mission. He had explained why he had done it, as in the entire country of Nami, not counting Gatou's residence, one would not find enough money for a B-rank. Originally he had intended to coax the shinobi to assist by calling out to their humanity and kindness, but even he knew that that was a dumb idea, with one of them wrestling death just a few feet away, none of them were likely to show great generosity and understanding to his plight. So he had done the only thing he could, talking and asking them to help him.

To everyone's surprise, it was Naruto who broke the silence. "Personally I don't mind continuing this mission, and I doubt Kakashi or Sasuke think too differently. However, for Sakura, this was her first encounter with the real world outside of the safe walls she spent her life in. the final decision should lie with her, as she is the one who will be the most affected by this decision."

The other two looked at each other, then they nodded. Kakashi sighed. "Well, nothing we can do now. Naruto, I think you've earned yourself a break. I'll take the first watch, Sasuke second, and you'll watch until morning."

Naruto nodded and closed his eyes, this time to welcome the warm slumber, and the lessons with the Guardians in his head. Nowadays, it was mainly sparring, they pointing out what he did wrong, until they deemed him fit to learn something new. Still, it was fun.

-0-

Naruto's watch had begun a while ago, and the sun was sending indications that it intended to rise soon, when a pink-haired girl climbed the rock and sat next to him. "Feeling better?" He asked.

Sakura nodded. "Thanks to you, I've heard."

Naruto shrugged. "You are my teammate. I'm not going to abandon my comrades. Aside from that, I hate rapists more than anything else in this world."

Sakura blinked. That was a opinion more common with girls. "Is there a reason for that?"

Naruto looked at her, and she shuddered. "It's not really any of your business, but since you're my teammate, I'll humor you. Do you know what I did the first time I took a human life?"

He obviously wasn't expecting an answer, but Sakura had to ask. "So today was not your first kill?"

Naruto shook his head. "You and maybe the old man are the only ones in this merry group who don't have another man's blood on their hands. I made my first kill not long after I befriended Sasuke. Bandits. I had gone to find some, as your first kill should always be something with as little risk as possible. Trust me, you may freeze up, and afterwards you hurl your guts out. Happened to me, happened to Sasuke. Anyways, I came across this camp with five bandits, and I saw them waiting while one of them raped a woman. She couldn't have been older than sixteen. She bit the one who raped her, and he grabbed a club and bashed her skull in. Her head was torn off her body, and another bandit was getting ready to desecrate her corpse. I killed every single one and buried the girl beneath a tree. It was all I could do for her. I still blame myself for not attacking right away and maybe saving her life." A lone tear ran down his cheek, and he quickly brushed it away.

Sakura didn't know what to say. She never would have dreamed that Naruto and Sasuke had actually already had some experience in the darker sides of the shinobi-business. It was one thing to say that you would kill someone, and it could sound really cool, but to actually pull it through was another matter entirely. She gulped.

Naruto gave her another look of quiet contemplation. "Sakura, now you have had your first experience as a shinobi, and more importantly, as a untrained kunoichi. This time I managed to save you in time, while the others were still busy fighting. Next time, I may not be so fast. People like that man are no rarity, nor are they an exception. Most bandits and many ninja think like that man thought, and have no problem capturing girls like you to satisfy their needs. You have a choice now Sakura. You can return to the safe life you knew, or you enter our world. Either way, things will change for you. If you choose safety, then I will formally request that your license be revoked, as you are obviously not ready for our world. However, if you decide to continue, you will lose a different innocence, and things will never be the same as they once were. You will be pulled into a darker world, even though we will try to help you the best we can. We will train you so that you can survive in this cruel world, as currently you can't. The training will be harsh and at some points brutal, and you will curse all our names many times. However, you will be strong. So Sakura, will you choose the easy way leading to safety, or the hard way leading through many hardships to strength?"

Sakura looked at Naruto. He was normally not one for speeches, but she had to admit, this one was captivating. She carefully weighed her options, maybe for the first time clearly understanding what she had gotten herself into. Then she looked at Naruto. "I will not run. I will not feel helpless like before. Never again."

Naruto smiled, and Sakura suddenly noticed that Sasuke and Kakashi were there as well, one apparently reading in an orange book, although he was giving her his eye-smile, the other simply leaning on the rock, giving her a short nod. Naruto extended his hand. "Welcome to the world of shadows, of hardship, of cruelty. Welcome to the world of blood and death, where nothing is as it may seem. Welcome to our world."

-0-

Now, as they headed towards Nami, Naruto seriously started making plans for Sakura. She needed training, badly, but for almost everything that was really efficient, she needed more chakra. And to get more chakra, she needed training. A vicious cycle! Then he remembered something Kyuubi had told him about his chakra. It wouldn't be easy, scratch that, it would be, but it really wouldn't be pleasant. For Sakura. Oh well, some sacrifices must be made. She'd thank him later. After she was done cursing him. Anyways, he should wait until they were in a more secure location.

Sasuke suddenly threw a kunai, and five eyes narrowed at the small chakra-spike, before darting around for the attack that would soon follow. Sakura remained oblivious to the spike, but with her new mindset, focusing on the mission and her comrades' body-language more than Sasuke's face, she noticed that all three were tensing,waiting for something. She had almost lost her virginity once, that would never happen again. So she too focused on her surroundings, missing the small smile on her comrades' faces when they saw what she did. They all heard the sound of something large cutting through the air and jumped to the floor, Kakashi being closed pulling Tazuna down with him.

All except Naruto. He remained, looking at the giant blade flying at him curiously, wondering why anyone would wield something so large, and what on earth possessed him to throw it.

"Naruto, GET DOWN!" Sasuke called, as the blade got closer and closer.

Naruto just smirked. Just as the blade almost reached him, he bent his body backwards like someone plying limbo, letting it sail harmlessly above him, slamming into a tree. A second later, a figure was standing on the hilt.

Unknowingly, with just that action, the man had told Naruto a lot about him. The man was either arrogant or hardly armed. If Naruto were to throw such a blade in an obvious and flashy way, he would have punched out some lights while everybody was watching the big spinning thing. That he hadn't even thrown some kunai or shuriken meant that he was either confident that he could handle them all without such tricks, or that he did not have any. That big blade was probably his only weapon. Oh well, sucks to be him. Naruto grinned and pointed at the blade. "And boom."

The telltale hiss of multiple exploding-tags filled the air. Zabuza looked at his blade in shock. Although he couldn't see it, the underside of it was plastered in tags, and they were only an instant away from going off. Before he could react...

BOOOM

The smoke blocked their view for a few seconds. When it lifted, the tree had been obliterated and a very irate Zabuza was standing on the floor, holding the to Naruto's disappointment still intact blade in his hands, although the right one was already starting to turn into interesting colors.

Naruto spat out. "Che, didn't work."

"What do you mean?" Kakashi asked, not taking his eyes off of Zabuza. As a wise man once said, the only thing more dangerous than a tiger is a injured tiger.

"I've spent days tuning those tags! Instead of giving 50% of the blast to one side of the tag and 50% on the inside, these sent a solid 90% inwards. That sword was supposed to shatter, killing the guy in the shrapnel. Instead, it held, and only slammed into him. The shoulder and arm aren't even broken! I feel cheated."

Kakashi had to snort at Naruto's pout. "That is Zabuza Momochi, the Demon of Mist. I really doubt an A-rank nin would be taken out so easily."

Naruto dramatically rolled his eyes. "Another one? I swear, there has to be a nest. This is the second A-rank in roughly 24 hours!"

Zabauza was, not that he'd ever admit it, intrigued. This kid was way too relaxed, as was the black-haired one. The only ones seeming adequately scared were the old man and the pinkette. Why would anyone want pink hair? Especially in this business? He would have written the brats off as simply being overconfident, were it not for the way they carried themselves. Even if they seemed relaxed, they were ready to move in an instant. The fact that the blond one had noted that he tuned exploding-tags was also a good indication that these weren't just your average snot-nosed brats.

They were pulling off a show, trying to provoke him to drop his guard, whether in cockiness or anger, and would mercilessly pounce given half a chance.

However, their sensei seemed determined to not give them that chance. "You two stay back, I'll take care of this one." He pulled up his headband, revealing the Sharingan in all it's glory.

Zabuza grinned. This would be fun. "The Copy-Ninja himself. Should I be flattered?"

Kakashi shrugged. "Do what you want, but you will not get the bridge-builder. I will take you on myself."

Sasuke shrugged. "Fine. I call the small-fry hiding in the bushes." He pointed his thumb behind them.

Naruto stared at him. "No fair!" Just as he finished speaking, two oddly familiar shinobi wearing gas-masks and clawed gauntlets broke out of the foliage. Naruto groaned. "Remind me that the next time we decide to tie some shinobi up with their own chain, bladed or not, I should break their limbs, just to make sure stuff like this doesn't happen."

Sasuke smirked as he charged the two chunin, one of his daggers drawn.

Naruto puffed his cheeks in annoyance. "Sakura, watch over our client, I'll cover you."

Sakura pulled a kunai, but she seemed affected by the killing intent that was pressing down on the entire area. Naruto, so used to much worse, had hardly noticed it. Sakura gulped. "Do we have a chance?"

Naruto smiled. "Of course. Zabuza may be an A-rank, but so is Kakashi-sensei, and Zabuza will be heavily favoring his left arm, which gives sensei an edge, unless he does something stupid, like dropping his... I don't believe this."

-0-

Kakashi had dropped his guard, chasing Zabuza, who indeed seemed to be in some pain, out onto the lake when said man made a break for Tazuna and Sakura. However, once he had stepped onto the lake, Zabuza had used the _Kirigakure no Jutsu_, followed by sending a few _Mizu Bunshins_ as a feint, while sneaking behind the Sharingan-user and trapping him in a _Suirou no Jutsu_.

Zabuza grinned. "Looks like this battle is over. Without your sensei, you don't stand a chance."

Naruto sighed. As useful as it was, he hated being underestimated. "Don't count your chickens before they hatch. The way I see it, you're stuck over there, and we're here. I'd call this a stalemate, with the odds about to tip in my favor, as Sasuke will soon be done playing with your goons, and we can surely force you to stop the jutsu, since all you have to defend yourself is your bad arm."

Zabuza looked and noticed that he had indeed, out of habit, put his left arm in the prison. As he was right-handed, this was usually a good choice. Usually. However, that blasted straw-head of a brat had got him good with those tags. Since when were those handed out to freshlings? "You fucking brat seem to misinterpret the situation. Your friend will die soon, and I'll kill you all then. Do you think this is some kind of game? The hero comes and saves the day? This is a harsh world you brat." His eyes gained a dreamy expression. "When I was your age, my hands were soaked in the blood of others. It was so much fun, too."

Naruto shrugged dismissively. "Here our opinions differ. It's not fun for me."

Zabuza looked into Naruto's eyes, and indeed found that certain gleam that signified the loss of innocence, the gleam of someone who had killed, more than once. "Well well, looks like something halfway decent crawled out of Konoha. It's been a while since that happened. Still boy, you are out of your league. Leave the old man, and I will spare your life."

Naruto returned to playful-mode. "I'd love to, but that would leave an ugly stain on my perfect record, so no." He pulled out a fuuma shuriken, gave it a short flick so it folded out to full size, charged it with Lightning-chakra, and threw it.

Zabuza saw the small lightnings shooting up here and there, and immediately knew that catching it was a bad idea. So he did the obvious thing, he jumped over it. "Too easy! Did I overestimate you?"

Naruto grinned. "I was just asking myself that same question. Strike one."

Zabuza's head snapped to his left, looking over his shoulder in disbelief as the blade he had just dodged had stopped moving forward, albeit still spinning like a buzz-saw, before tilting from a horizontal to a vertical position and shooting towards him. While twisting, one blade made contact with the surface of the lake, and the shuriken immediately discharged itself, sending a shock that paralyzed Zabuza for a moment.

"Strike two." Naruto commented, still grinning. "And there comes the third strike."

Zabuza cursed the short moment the electrical shock had cost him, as the spinning blade of death or at lest crippling was making a beeline towards his arm, just at the elbow. With the speed it was going, Zabuza didn't have a shred of doubt it would take his arm. How the hell did the fucking brat do that? It wasn't magnetism, otherwise at least one of the few metal objects Zabuza had on him would have reacted, so what was it? Well, he'd ponder that later, right now he had to save his hand.

He pulled it out of the watery orb just in time, the spinning blade missing his fingertips by a hair's width. Just as he was about to send something nasty the boy's way, he had to dodge a fist. Kakashi, now free as a bird, was looking at him. "Strike three. Out."

Zabuza chuckled. "Maybe. But sure as hell not for for me."

Naruto had stopped the blade again, the spinning shuriken inches from his nose. Then the rotation stopped, and Naruto's eyes widened. "Son of a bitch!" He called out before a exploding-tag attached to the shuriken went off right in his face.

Zabuza couldn't help but grin, even though he doubted that the brat would be taken out that easily. People had survived worse, and since the tag had been in the boy's face, the shrapnel of the shuriken would be blown away from him. Pity. The pained groan a second later proved him right.

"NARUTO! ARE YOU OKAY?" Kakashi was worried. Talent or no talent, toughness or no toughness, there were things that just plainly fucked you up, and a exploding-tag to one's face was certainly amongst those.

"A fucking tag blew up three inches from my face. DO YOU THINK I'M OKAY?" came the answer. The smoke cleared, and a very peeved Naruto was seen leaning onto a tree. His clothes were shredded, and the right side of his face seemed to consist of nothing but burns. He hissed. "I'm gonna feel that till tomorrow." He noticed Sakura looked terribly pale, but she held her ground, watching the client.

Naruto could hear the Kyuubi laughing in his head, taking it's merry time to heal his face.

"_**Well well, you fell victim to your own idea? How pathetic is that?"**_ Kyuubi asked.

'Shut up, and crank up the healing.' Naruto barked. His face hurt like a bitch.

Madara was also more amused than worried. _"Naruto, once this is over, we will go over this battle and see what you could have done different to not end up like you did."_

Naruto groaned. He knew tactics were important, but that didn't mean he had to like every little mistake he made being pointed out. To Naruto's endless embarrassment, Madara, who was the one who gave most of those lessons, had somehow allowed everyone in Naruto's head to view his first kill from a third-person-perspective, and after it was done, happily proclaiming that what they all had just seen was a classic example of how to get yourself killed in combat.

'Hai.' He muttered unhappily, groaning at the pain his face gave him at minimal movement, which unfortunately included the movement of his healing flesh.

Still, he swallowed the pain as he watched his sensei and Zabuza pepper each other with different suitons, although Kakashi was steadily gaining the upper-hand, as he could form his handsigns faster than Zabuza. Also, even though Naruto couldn't understand the words that were spoken, his ears still ringing from the explosion, nor did the masks both wore allow him to read lips, he could tell that Kakashi was using mental warfare on his enemy. And because Naruto had been too cocky to properly check his weapons after they returned from the combat-zone, he got nailed by a trick he himself had used only minutes earlier, so he could not even get up and learn from this battle, as he was still deaf.

Still, he whistled in appreciation when Kakashi nailed Zabuza with a spinning vortex of water, which slammed him against a tree, a few kunai that Kakashi had hidden in the water now piercing the missing-nin's flesh.

Naruto had regained his hearing, and most of his hair and skin, just in time to see two senbon piercing Zabuza's neck with pinpoint accuracy. He raised a brow as a new figure wearing a mask quite similar to Nanashi appeared, although this one had a red swirl and a different symbol, marking the wearer as a hunter from Kiri.

"Thank you." The hunter said, politely bowing. "I have been waiting for a long time for an opening to kill Zabuza."

Kakashi looked at him. "You are a hunter from Kiri?"

The figure nodded. "That is correct. I understand you do not trust me, so feel free to check his condition. He is dead. Although I request you do not damage the specimen, or I may be forced to assume you are trying to get samples. Not to be disrespectful, but you would not be the first one hailing from Konoha who does that."

Kakashi nodded. Orochimaru had left a bad impression on the entire continent, so many were weary of allowing Konoha-nin close to bloodline-users or corpses holding important information. He checked the pulse, first on the wrist, then on the neck to be sure, before pushing open an eyelid. "He's dead." He finally said, stepping back from the corpse.

The hunter bowed again, before reappearing next to the corpse, intending to pick it up, when Naruto spoke.

"I also don't mean to be disrespectful, but you seem rather ill-equipped for a hunter. I don't see a storage-scroll, nor do you have any heavy tools with you. Allow me to help you decapitate the corpse, then you will not have to carry as much." With that, he sent a blade of wind at Zabuza's body, aiming for the neck while leaving a gash in the ground.

The hunter seemingly didn't react, but at the last second, a rectangular plate of ice appeared out of nowhere and took the hit. Both Naruto and the hunter stared in shock, albeit for different reasons.

Naruto was thinking 'No way! That was almost 70% of the power I can put in the wind, and it didn't penetrate? How hard is that thing?'

The hunter meanwhile was baffled at the gash the wind had left. 'A mixture of two elements is supposed to be superior to any single element, especially if the attacking element is not a elemental weakness of either component, yet this boy almost cut my mirror in half! Who is he?' But instead of pondering, the hunter wisely chose to retreat while he still could.

Naruto wanted to follow, but out of the corner of his eye, he noticed that Kakashi had collapsed. Giving one final longing look at the fake hunter, obviously wishing to gut him like a fish for tricking them, he turned to his sensei. "You okay Kakashi-niisan?" He quietly asked.

Kakashi gave his eye-smile. "I'm fine. I just overused the Sharingan. Speaking of which..."

Naruto turned around, and spotted a grinning Sasuke with red eyes, a single tomoe in each. He was also dragging the unmoving bodies of the two he had attacked with him.

Naruto shook his head. "I don't know if I should congratulate you on achieving the Sharingan, or be disappointed that such low-class gave you enough trouble to believe your life in jeopardy."

Sasuke shrugged. "They had a nasty trap with their chain set up, and I didn't notice until it was too late. When they sprung it, everything just slowed down and I could dodge it." He tossed the lifeless bundles to the floor. "I did what you asked me to remind you to do. Broken arms, broken legs, they're not going anywhere." He paused in thought, "Well, we could cash them in. it would be easier to send their heads in a scroll than to keep them around."

Naruto chuckled. "We'll decide later." He waved Tazuna and Sakura closer. "Right now, we have to get Kakashi-sensei away from here, and I think we could all use a breather. Tazuna, can you lead us to your house?"

The bridge-builder nodded, and quickly lead them through barely visible paths to his home.

-0-

Naruto considered their situation. They were safe for the moment, at least from outside threats. Putting down Sasuke's inflated ego from his newly gained Sharingan had been a chore, as Sasuke had dodged the first bonk on the head, making Naruto hit faster and harder on his next try. After that, he nearly lost his hearing to Sakura's screech.

Naruto was starting to have doubts if it would be a good idea to give Sakura the jutsu he had thought up with her in mind, and created when she joined their team. Granted, she would be lethal, and it would fit, but he did not quite trust her not to use it on innocent people who criticize Sasuke. He already had a defense, but it was not something he could just teach to anyone.

Kakashi was out cold, though he should be regaining consciousness sometime in the near future. Currently Sakura and her new sense of duty were watching him. Say what you want, but at least for the moment, Sakura had grown a spine, and it actually held when Sasuke was around.

Aside from his teammates, he had met the clients family. Tsunami was a pleasant woman, friendly, fairly cheery considering her situation, and all together a joy to have around, especially in the kitchen. She made one mean sushi. Her son on the other hand was a disappointment. The kid was completely emo, looking at them with a gloomy expression, muttering something about how they would all die, and then leave. The kid reminded Naruto of someone but for the life of him, he couldn't figure out who.

His musings were interrupted when Sakura entered the living-room, stating that Kakashi was awake.

-0-

Kakashi groaned, but relaxed when he saw Naruto sitting beside him. "How long have I been out?"

Naruto frowned. "Somewhere in the vicinity of fifteen hours. Sasuke's downstairs watching the client and family, and Sakura is resting. You know, she hasn't slept a single second since our encounter with Zabuza? She kept watch over you, just as she was told. Sasuke even tested her by asking her to come outside, and she actually refused."

Kakashi smiled. "Looks like she really doesn't want to be raped. Well, good for all of us, I guess. Anyways, what's the situation?"

Naruto went into business-mode. "I have secured the perimeter, my _Kage Bunshin_ are patrolling the area. Although I find it unlikely that we'll be attacked by anything serious in the near future. Zabuza will lick his wounds before he comes back. Although his companion saved him, he had to be put into a near-death state to do so. Until he is back to full strength, it's unlikely we'll be dealing with anything worse than some riffraff bandits. If Gatou had more good shinobi, they would have attacked us after you fainted, as that would have been a golden opportunity. And if there were more men, those brothers that Sasuke trashed would not have been sent on a mission they already failed once. Although it is possible that Gatou hires more shinobi, they too would probably wait until Zabuza is back in form to further tip the odds in their favor."

A short nod signified Kakashi's agreement. "How long do you estimate it'll take until Zabuza is fully healed?"

Naruto thought about it. "At least a week until he can move again. However, his arm, although sadly not broken, was hit pretty hard, and the bruising will make it a liability in combat, since it'll be impossible to move without pain, and would be much weaker than the other one. So depending on Zabuza's medical equipment and knowledge, and frankly how fast he heals, I'd say it will take him two weeks to a month to fully heal, probably sooner than later if he gets medicine. That would also be the amount of time we have."

"How long will it take to complete the bridge?" came Kakashi's next question.

Naruto shrugged helplessly. "Tazuna said his men keep leaving, so he's grossly understaffed. He estimated that it would take between two and five months at the current rate. I offered to help out with my _Kage Bunshin_, but since I'm not a bridge-builder, I can only do so much. If I take over the manual labor and leave all workers with only the complicated work, Tazuna said it would take around three weeks. Still not enough. It's likely that we're attacked before then."

Kakashi nodded. "Still, we have more time than I thought possible when we began this mission. I will probably need a week or so to get back in shape as well, so maybe we can use that time to teach Sakura something."

Naruto agreed. "Perhaps I can test her affinities."

Kakashi knew what Naruto meant. He himself had tested himself, and the result had been interesting, to say the least. He had no Force-affinity on the first try, however, with his Sharingan uncovered, he suddenly had an affinity for dimension.

He didn't know it, but Madara had explained the Sharingan to Naruto. A Sharingan could be transplanted, but only if one condition was met, otherwise it would rot in the receiver's head, or if that was prevented, regularly malfunction and cause extreme pain. The condition was surprisingly simple. The Sharingan had to be willingly given. Even better, if it was, then it would, with time and patience, evolve into a Mangekyo Sharingan by itself, without any deaths of precious people involved. However, then it would only learn one technique, and it would be impossible to deactivate the Sharingan. There was always a catch.

Anyways, Kakashi agreed. "That may be a good idea. Who knows, she might surprise us. Anyways, didn't you mention that there was a Force-temple in Nami?"

Naruto nodded. "There is. The Time-temple, to be exact. I might check it out after the mission is done. But Sakura's training comes first. And Tazuna's daughter's sushi is to die for. Her brat is a pain though. He fell out of the emo-tree and hit every branch on the way down. If I only knew who he reminds me of..."

Kakashi chuckled. "Naruto, you're talking random again. Still, I think we can rest for today. Tomorrow we'll start the training."

-0-

The next day Kakashi was well enough to move with crutches. The bad part about chakra-exhaustion is, even if you would manage to get your reserves refilled immediately, the exhaustion would not vanish, since your reserves were, at one point, drained. Of course, that doesn't mean that it wouldn't help.

He looked at his students. "The first exercise will be tree-climbing. Well, Naruto and Sasuke already know this, as I've observed when they fled the library a few years ago," The boys blushed. How did Kakashi manage to spot them? "so they can explain it to Sakura. Sakura, I won't lie to you. You are the one who needs this more than anyone else here."

Sakura bit her lip, but she nodded. Naruto on the other hand raised a brow. "Why are we suddenly the instructors? Isn't that your job?"

Kakashi shrugged it off. "Didn't you want to check something with Sakura?"

Naruto's palm slammed into his forehead. "I nearly forgot! Sakura, here. Hold this between your hands like this and channel chakra through it."

Sakura blinked and looked at the odd stick wrapped in paper, then at her teammates and sensei, who all nodded reassuringly. With a nervous smile, she did as she was told.

Kakashi raised a brow. Sasuke whistled. Naruto smiled and frowned at the same time. 'Great, that temple is right on Iwa's border. That'll be fun.' Loud he said. "Well, you have both Physical- and Mental-affinities, that makes us an identical squad in that aspect. Your elemental-affinity is Earth, with weak secondary-affinities of Water and Lightning. Those aren't at a level where they can be truly exploited yet, this test shows all affinities you WILL gain in your life, period, but now we have something to work with. However, who would have thought that you of all people have a force-affinity? And such a strong one? No offense."

The last tag had torn in half, one half pointing to the heavens, one pointing straight down, before the bottom half ripped off and sank halfway into the ground. Sakura just stared. "What happened? And what Force-affinity are you talking about? I've heard about elemental-affinities, they're a chunin-level topic, but what are forces?"

Naruto sighed and explained. Sakura's eyes grew larger and larger the more he talked, before finally she gulped.

"And... I have such a force?"

Naruto shook his head. "No. you have the POTENTIAL to use one of the forces, that's different. Still, with you, we almost have a complete set. I have Time and Space, Sasuke here has Void, and now you turn out to have Gravity. All we have to do now is find the forgotten temples where long deceased monks gathered all knowledge about them, and find someone that has an affinity for Death to complete our pentagram. Jiji turned out to have one, but we can hardly ask the Hokage to join our team."

Sasuke thought he saw steam coming out of Sakura's ears as the pinkette tried to burn every word Naruto spoke into her memory, especially since Naruto had said that this knowledge was very old, practically forgotten, and one of Konoha's most important military secrets. She frowned. "But Naruto, if that knowledge is so secret, how can you just tell me? How do you even know? And why do you carry the materials to conduct a test for forces in your pocket?"

Naruto grimaced. "Because... You're looking at the one who supplied the knowledge how to make these materials, and it were also these lips who revealed the knowledge of the forces in the first place."

In his head, Minato chuckled. 'Very smooth. You told her the truth, at the same time leading her astray. You make it sound like you were the one who figured everything out, without saying it, as that just isn't true. But you may want to tell her the truth.'

_**'Yes, you have no right to hog all the glory, especially if it belongs to me.'**_ Kyuubi muttered, although it sounded amused.

Hashirama also voiced his opinion. **'Perhaps you should tell her the truth. That girl is smart, even though she doesn't show it all the time. Sooner or later she will figure it out, and the longer you wait, the more trust you will destroy. And if that happens at the wrong time, it may doom everyone involved.'**

Naruto sighed. It was really hard to argue with his inner voices. They were just smarter and more experienced than him. It really wasn't fair!

_'Life's not fair. And we weren't born with all our knowledge, we gained it through our own experiences, some of them very unpleasant.'_ Madara chipped in.

Sakura looked at him. "Naruto, What's wrong? You were staring into space."

Naruto scratched his head. "Was I? Well, it can't be helped. Sakura, since I already told you one of Konoha's most important secrets, I'll tell you another one. But keep this in mind. What I'm about to tell you is an S-ranked secret, that only I and the Hokage may reveal to those we trust. If you tell anyone else about this, you will be executed on the spot. Do you understand me?"

Sakura laughed nervously and looked at Sasuke and her sensei, hoping they'd tell her Naruto was only kidding. However, both Kakashi and Sasuke looked at her with emotionless expressions, which told her that not only was it true, but they would both be willing to administer the punishment themselves if it would be necessary. She gulped. "Okay, I won't tell anyone."

Naruto looked her in the eyes. "Very well. As you know, twelve years ago Konoha was attacked by the Kyuubi. Our Yondaime Hokage sacrificed his life to save the village, and he was successful. What you don't know is that killing a demon is generally a chore, and killing a bijuu is like trying fell a tree with a feather. Bijuu are immortal, in every sense of the word. The only way for a bijuu to die is when a different demon with a corresponding number of tails challenges it for its title as a bijuu, and if it wins, it is the new bijuu. No human, no matter how great, can kill a bijuu. The Yondaime however did the next-best thing. He sealed it away. However, no object can hold the Kyuubi, any animal would immediately be possessed, and no adult would survive the changes that having a demon sealed into them would cause, so the only option the Yondaime had was to seal it in an infant. That infant was me. I am the jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi no Kitsune."

Sakura stared, slack-jawed. One could practically hear her world shatter around her. She seemed unable to form coherent words. Then she pulled herself together. She had sworn herself that she would change, and she would, dammit! If everything she had ever believed in had to go to make that happen, then go it shall! She took a deep breath. "I see. So, Kyuubi told you about the forces?"

Naruto nodded. "Yep. He's fairly cooperative. Turns out he was only passing through and got pissed when people started attacking. Anyways, now you know. Kyuubi is teaching me some stuff that has been forgotten for centuries. Really cool, but I digress. Sasuke, I do remember that we about to explain tree-climbing, or rather tree-walking, to Sakura. If you may? I feel I said enough for the moment."

Sasuke nodded, and looked at Sakura, secretly pleased that she looked at him with the respect one gives a teacher, not that lost-puppy-look his fangirls usually gave him. That look just gave him the creeps.

-0-

While he explained everything to Sakura, Naruto was asking Kakashi about his thoughts on a raiton that he and Sasuke had developed, but not yet perfected. They discussed different possibilities, before looking up to see how Sakura was doing.

Said girl was sweating, having used chakra to walk, then run up the tree for almost twenty minutes. She knew from the somewhat downtrodden look on Sasuke's face when he exchanged glances with Naruto and Kakashi that her reserves were pathetic, and felt tears forming in the corners of her eyes.

Naruto sighed. "Sakura, come here please." He waited until she sat before him, completely exhausted.

He looked her in the eye. "Sakura, I'll be honest with you. What you just showed was better than we expected. We honestly feared that you would fall out of the tree after ten minutes, tops. But still, you are far below the level you need to be, or bluntly should be. Now, I've consulted with both sensei and Kyuubi, I have two options for you to help get you stronger. Option one, we continue training like this, draining your chakra and letting it refill. This was what Sasuke, Kakashi, and for the most part I used to get where we are now. This method is exhausting and what is worse in our case, time-consuming, but fairly simple and straightforward. There will be a lot of exhaustion, but little pain involved and if things go well, your reserves might double, although we have to do a lot of water-walking for that to happen. Your control may improve even further if possible"

Sakura nodded. This was the standard way. You train, you get stronger. "And what is the other option?"

Naruto's expression was serious. "Kyuubi was the one who suggested this. This method has more advantages, but the drawbacks are also more extreme. To phrase it as simple as it goes, I will inject my chakra into you. Before you say anything, let me explain. Thanks to Kyuubi, my chakra is much denser than ordinary chakra. There is also more pressure in my coils. It's simple really. The pressure widens the coils to relieve it, and because there is a drop in density, my body produces more chakra. You get what I'm saying?"

Sakura nodded again. "It's a circle. Basically your body's standard chakra-concentration is a little more than normal, so the additional pressure widens the coils to relieve it. But because of that, your body is producing more chakra to get back to it's standard, causing everything to start again. But what does that have to do with me?"

Naruto smiled. "My chakra is denser than yours. If I inject it into you, it will forcibly widen your coils. Hell, one could say that it will shatter your chakra-coils and completely rebuild them, only much stronger. My estimate is that if I do this, your reserves will at least triple, and by tomorrow that would be complete. Don't misunderstand, that the increase is so high is mainly due to your low reserves. If I use this on others with more chakra like Kakashi or Sasuke, they would have a slight increase, but nothing as dramatic as yours. And before you make a decision, these are the side-effects. First of all, if I do this, your chakra-control will be shot to hell. You will have to spend at least two days to get it back to decent. The other, and more critical catch is, that essentially rebuilding your coils from scratch is not easy. There are no risks or anything, as my chakra, if voluntarily given, has healing-properties, but if I do it, you will feel pain like you never felt it before. This will be agony."

Sakura gulped. "Would it always hurt like that? I mean, if you would do it again?"

Naruto frowned as he listened to Kyuubi. "According to the fox, the first time is the worst. After that, it will get better. If I do it to Sasuke, he will likely remain conscious, and doing it to Kakashi-sensei will result in little more than some general feeling of unpleasantness. It will hurt the first few times, but it will get better over time. And in case you're wondering why I only reveal this now, I'm not fond of shortcuts. If people never work for what they gain, they will not be able to respect what they get. Again, the decision is yours to make."

Sakura thought about it, carefully weighing both options. After ten minutes, she nodded. "Do it. If doing this means that I won't just be dead weight in the future, then any pain will be worth it."

Naruto nodded. "I respect your choice Sakura. You will faint after a few moments, and I doubt you'll wake up before tomorrow. When you do, we'll start the real training, okay?"

She nodded. Naruto placed a hand on her shoulder and formed a single-handed sign. Even though he didn't know it, it was the same sign Kyuubi had used when he pumped the man who attacked Naruto full with youki. Only logical, as it was the Transfer-sign.

They both started to glow, and Sakura let out an agonized wail as she dropped like a rock, twitching, foaming at the mouth, and completely cramped up. A few seconds later, she lost consciousness.

Naruto heaved her on his shoulder. "Let's go back. I think we deserve to call it a day."

Sasuke and Kakashi nodded, before all three headed to Tazuna's house, the old man returning from a day bossing around blond clones that both worked on the bridge and protected him and his workers.

It had been a rough day.  
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Chapter 12 is done. I'm not dead! Nor is this story! In fact, this one just might be the longest of my stories when it's done. At least, it's the one I have the most plans for.

I considered starting Sakura's training this chapter, but I wanted to have more space for that than this chapter had without getting ridiculously large, so that will be next chapter.

And yes, the Sharingan must be willingly given, or it won't work right! In my fic, th reason Danzou can use Shisui's eye is because Shisui wanted to be avenged, giving indirect permission. However, since it was not a conscious choice, Danzou can only use Shisui's jutsu once every twenty-four hours. It will also never become a Mangekyo, just like the other ten on his arm. Those he doesn't use because they'd rot, but Danzou managed to arrange it so that he could use them for his jutsu, and only for his jutsu.

IMPORTANT NOTICE (With slight spoilers): Two things I wanted to write a few chapters ago, but forgot. First of all, Danzou's ultimate immortality-genjutsu has, in this story, officially been rechristened _Izanami_. I already had dibs on Izanagi, as that is the name of one of the Eternal Mangekyo's jutsus, and in this fic, the secret that would, theoretically, have been able to make Madara somewhat immortal. Also, Utakata will make an appearance in this fic, and that fairly soon. But since I decided on him and his personality before he appeared in the anime, which I've never watched anyways, he will be completely different, and Hotaru will most likely not exist in this fic.

RANT: Well, I've been told that directly replying to reviews can get my story banned, so I'll do a simple Q&A. Don't ask me why it's banned. Whoever runs this site seems to be doing a lot of pointless and downright annoying things right now. For example, the search-function was perfectly fine. You chose what source you wanted to look in by checking through the alphabet, entered the search-phrases and maybe the characters you want. Now you have to press a button that you want an advanced search, after pressing the search-button no less, which signifies that the little tab that opens when you point your mouse on the writing isn't enough. Then you have to enter whether books, movies, manga or otherwise, and then select that. Afterwards you still have to enter the search-words, and optionally the characters. What used to be done in less than ten seconds now takes half a minute, and to top things off, you can't even select if you want to look in a certain rating. Can anyone explain to me why it was necessary to alter a perfectly fine system, just to make it fancier and in fact more bothersome to use, or to speak it bluntly, crappier? Or why we authors have those lines we use to make gaps in the story to signify changes erased? WTF? What do they care if we do that? It's not like it's doing anything bad. By erasing them, whoever runs this site has made our stories more difficult to read. Correct me if I'm wrong, but couldn't this be called sabotaging our stories?

Anyways, here the Q&A

Q: Will Sakura actually be useful?  
A: Yes, she will. It will take a bit of time and hard work, but by the time the chunin-exams roll around, she'll be pretty decent. Not in Naruto or Sasuke's league, but decent.

Q: Will Tobi exist?  
A: Yes. He obviously won't be Madara, although he may use the name, but he will exist. And yes, I already have his existence planned out. There will be a reason he exists.

Q: What are the pairings?  
A: I've written this often, but I hope that now that it is on a public Q&A, I won't have to say it again. I haven't decided on anything yet.

Q: What the hell is a Catevari?  
A: It comes from the series 'The Invisible Man', and it basically means someone who was fed poison to the point that he is immune, but his body is flooded with the poison to a degree extreme enough that he becomes poisonous to others.

Well, I said all that I can think of right now, so

Please Review


	13. In Wave and unexpected Encounters

Chapter 13

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

* * *

Sakura groaned. Her entire body hurt. She knew that it only lasted a few seconds, but agony did not even begin to describe how it had felt. Mind-shattering might be closer. She tried to sit up, and noticed her limbs were tied to the bed with cloth.

"Sorry, but you might have hurt yourself." Came a new voice. Sakura turned her head and saw Naruto. "How do you feel?" He asked.

She gave him a tired smile. "Miserable. Can you untie me now?"

Naruto grinned. "Sure." He undid her binds, and smiled at her. "You'll be pleased to know that you have not gone through all that pain for nothing. It worked even better than I expected. You have more than four times more chakra than you did before. We'll work on your control as soon as you're ready."

Sakura stretched her aching body. "No time like the present, right?"

Naruto shrugged. "If you insist. Though I warn you, this will be annoying."

-0-

"DAMMIT!"

It was somehow amusing to watch Sakura trying again to climb the tree, who stubbornly resisted all attempts at scaling it.

Naruto grinned. "Not as simple as you thought, was it?"

Sakura gave him a death-glare. "Naruto, shut up!"

Naruto laughed and turned his attention back to the jutsu he was working on. Pointing his right index-finger, lightning dancing over it, forming into a ball hovering half an inch away from the fingertip, he intoned "_Raiton: Kyoudan_"

The small ball shot forward at frightening speed, leaving smoking and perfectly circular holes the size of a coin in the trees Naruto had tested them on. Fifty feet away. Naruto nodded to himself. "Not bad. The kinks are all worked out. The only problem is that it's too slow."

Sakura was trying to balance three feet in the air, wobbling dangerously. "What do you mean, too slow?" She asked, trying to listen and keep her balance. If she couldn't pay attention to the situation while using chakra, then she was nothing but a liability.

Naruto shrugged. "Just as I say it. It's as fast as Lightning-chakra will allow it to go, but an experienced shinobi will have little trouble dodging it. You can hear it before it hits, and it moves in a straight line, making it very easy to predict. No, I need something more to make this an effective assassination-jutsu. It's not good enough to be a sure kill, even if it is for sniping."

Naruto bit his lip. "Ranton? No, that doesn't help in this case. Perhaps a basis of **Arashi**?"

Sakura gave up her fight with gravity and dropped from the tree, Naruto absentmindedly using the wind to cushion her fall. "What do you mean **Arashi**?"

Naruto grinned. "Oh right, you don't know. You see, Elements, unlike Forces, can be mixed freely with each other, right?"

Sakura nodded.

Naruto found it odd that he was lecturing her, but shook it off. "Mixing two elements to create a new one, like mixing Fire and Water to make Steam, Water and Earth make Wood, and that fake hunter mixed Wind and Water to make Ice. What most don't know is that some element-mixes can alter. For example, Wind and Water can also make Bubbles, while Earth and Fire can make both Lava and Metal, depending on the focus. Now, the Sage of the Six Paths is known for creating the ninja-world as we know it, but what he really did was that he invented handsigns. The twelve you know are actually just one of two beginner-sets, known as the Eastern Zodiac. The Western Zodiac also has twelve, and then it gets complicated enough to be a sign-language. Either way, chakra was known before the Sage, used mainly for physical reinforcement of the body and weapons, in seals, or in tune with the elements and forces. Monks back then used raw elemental- or force-chakra to fight. **Arashi** is one branch of that raw nature-usage. It is known as an omni-element."

Sakura blinked. "Omni-element? What is that supposed to mean?"

"Simple. As you know, **Arashi** means Storm, and that is the summary. It's base is using Wind and Lightning to create a superior Lightning. You see, the wind rubs air against air, creating great amounts of static electricity. The Lightning-chakra mixes with that, to get the result. Ranton, known as Storm-Release, mixes Water and Lightning to make the lightning flow, allowing precise control over it. It is Lightning-chakra, has the speed of Lightning-chakra, yet can be directed as simply as water. The part of **Arashi** I described goes the opposite way. It is as difficult to control as regular Lightning-chakra, but it has the speed of natural lightning, making it impossible to dodge." Naruto explained.

Sakura gulped. "That's scary. But I still don't understand why it's called omni-element."

Naruto frowned. "You're right, I got sidetracked. Well, the reason it's called an omni-element is that you can add all three other elements to it. Adding earth allows you to call upon sandstorms that can at full strength literally tear flesh from bone. Adding water causes rain, hail and snow, while fire... well, let's just say that the ancient scriptures that speak of fire falling from the sky are not as outrageous as one may think."

Sakura sat slack-jawed. "And you can use **Arashi**?"

Naruto laughed. "Goodness no! I'm badass, but not that badass. Yet. I can use the hybrid-lightning, and not even that very well, though it should be enough for what I have in mind. It takes years, if not decades, to master **Arashi**. I'm an adept at best. To truly master it, I'd have to be able to wield all elements as effortlessly as I do the wind. With that kind of control, I'd be able to use all elemental combinations, and would declare myself the strongest of elemental humans. Anyways, your control seems to improve faster than expected. I would have guessed you would need at least another day to stick, not to mention climb. Oh well, me and Sasuke owe Kakashi lunch."

Sakura sweat-dropped. "You were betting on me?"

Naruto nodded enthusiastically. "Didn't you know? Betting is also a part of being a shinobi, even the ANBU do it. It's entertaining, and a good way to keep motivated. Anyways, be proud. The estimated time to remaster chakra-control to that point is usually three days."

Sakura gave him a distrusting glance. "So Kakashi-sensei said I'd get it by afternoon. What were your and Sasuke's bets?"

Naruto shrugged. "I said you'd need until evening. Sasuke thought that nightfall sounded right."

Sakura blushed when she realized that all of her team had estimated her to take a third of the average time, showing faith in her abilities, or at least her will.

Naruto smiled. "Tell you what Sakura. If your control improves enough today, then I'll teach you a jutsu I invented just for you. and once that's down, we'll work on Force-manipulation."

Sakura's eyes began to glow with the flames of iron determination, and Naruto knew that he'd likely have to make good on both of his promises. While he had no problem with that, he did worry just what Sakura could do with that jutsu. Then he shrugged. He'd find out soon enough, and right now, he wanted to figure this jutsu out.

-0-

The next day saw Naruto, Sakura and Kakashi standing in the forest, Sasuke and a medium-sized army of _Kage Bunshin_ guarding Tazuna, the bridge, and the client's family.

Sakura had improved more than even Naruto had believed possible. She had not only remastered her control to the point where she could freely walk up and down the tree, though she still slipped if she ran too fast, but she had actually started trying to walk on water, and by now only sank in to her knees.

Naruto deemed it enough to teach her the promised jutsu. "Sakura, listen to me, and listen well. This jutsu is dangerous. I have no doubt that once the Hokage learns of it, he will label it a kinjutsu. This jutsu has to be strictly controlled, or the results may be devastating. Don't worry too much right now, I have a technique to cancel its effects before they harm us. The most important thing you have to do right now is make sure that you coat your ears and neck with chakra, to protect them from damage."

Sakura gulped, but nodded. She wanted to help. Naruto leaned close and whispered the instructions into her ear. Her eyes widened when she heard what jutsu Naruto had developed. "Are you serious?" She demanded.

Naruto nodded. "I know how it sounds, but trust me, it will be devastating. Don't forget to coat your body with chakra."

Sakura gave him a distrusting glance. Was he making fun of her? No, he seemed serious. So she hesitantly did as he told her, coating her body in chakra, putting extra care into her vocal chords and eardrums. Then she flashed through handsigns, before calling out "_Ninpou: Banshi no Kyatu!_" and screamed.

Naruto's eyes widened when he noticed that Sakura had not focused her voice in a particular direction. There was no time for handsigns or jutsu, so he used a technique he had invented that would have fitted into the era before the Sage of the Six Paths, and was named appropriately. Naruto slammed both palms together. "**White Applause!**"

A white ripple span through the air, starting at Naruto's clasped palms and extending quickly around himself and Kakashi, an instant before the shockwave of Sakura's shout reached them.

Suddenly, the world stopped.

-0-

Kakashi looked around. No, the world hadn't stopped. He could see wood splintered from Sakura's scream falling, and even felt the ground vibrate slightly beneath his feet. However, there was no sound. Everything was happening in absolute silence. Experimentally, he snapped his fingers. Nothing. Was he deaf?

But Naruto, after making sure that the jutsu was over, opened his hands from the position they had remained in before, fingertip on fingertip in a fashion that resembled prayer, and sound returned to the world.

Sakura stood there, pale and disbelieving. Naruto managed a grin. "That was good for a first try Sakura, it seems that you have a talent for this type of technique. If I had to guess, your natural vocal-power amplified the effectiveness of the technique. But please, next time don't just let the sound go, direct it. It may be difficult with your current control, but if you do manage to master it, not only will your attack become even stronger, but you won't accidentally kill your comrades. For now, you are forbidden from training this technique without my supervision. You can't really estimate the range and power of the sound-wave, and bleeding ears and deaths are not something we want to deal with. Do you understand?"

Sakura simply nodded, still speechless at the display.

Kakashi on the other hand had regained his voice. "Naruto, what was that just now?"

Naruto smiled. "Well, back when Sakura was still a useless fangirl, she tended to scream and shriek a lot. From that I got the idea to use an attack based on sound. Granted, not even I expected it to be this... devastating, but I think we can label this a success."

Kakashi nodded. "Yes, and you're right. Hokage-sama will definitely label this a kinjutsu. But I was referring to the technique you used."

Naruto blinked. "Oh. Well, that's easy to explain. It's not a jutsu in the conventional sense. It's actually the result of my experimentation with the Wind-element. You see, I figured out a way to completely stop the wind. I originally intended to develop a way to block fuuton, and I can proudly say I succeeded. What I didn't expect was for my trick to actually stop the movement of all air-molecules. Sound is vibration, and my technique essentially cancels all vibration. You can force it for a bit, like moving or in- and exhaling, but it won't move for more than half an inch, so you have to move or you will eventually suffocate. Either way, this technique is only usable for someone who has a Wind-affinity developed to my level, meaning it's pretty much just me who can use it, as far as humans go anyways. It cancels all sound and no fuuton can penetrate it. I actually helps a bit against katon too, since the flames don't get enough air for fuel either. If I gave everything, I could probably suffocate all in the vicinity by preventing the air from flowing back into the lungs of my victims. Is your question sufficiently answered, sensei?"

Kakashi nodded. "Well Naruto, I'm impressed. You continue working on that other jutsu of yours. Sakura, you'll refine your chakra-control, and I'm sure Naruto will be willing to help you with your new jutsu every once in a while, so I think I'll go rest a bit." He turned away, before seemingly remembering something. "And Naruto, I'm looking forward to seeing what you will reveal tomorrow."

Naruto grinned. "Oh yes, that will be fun. But tomorrow is still a few hours away, and I am still trying to work out the kinks of my new jutsu."

Kakashi nodded and shunshined away, leaving Naruto and Sakura to their training.

-0-

The evening had been pleasant enough, not counting Tazuna's bratty grandchild that was spouting nonsense about how they were all going to die and left before anyone could react appropriately, in other words whack him upside the head.

However, it was the morning Sakura and Sasuke had been especially looking forward to, because Naruto had promised them both their first lesson in Force-manipulation.

-0-

Naruto smiled. "Well, we all know why we're here, so I'll skip the needless dramatics and get straight to the point. You two have an affinity for one of the Forces, namely Gravity and Void. Seeing that I have neither, I can't really demonstrate for you, but I can give you a first impression of a Force. I'm no expert, so don't expect anything too dramatic."

He focused, and the air around his right hand began to shimmer, and a see-through, elongated and somewhat grayish shape appeared in his hand. "This is Time-chakra. Before you ask, all Force-chakra is transparent, as none of the associated Forces are visible either. What I have in my hand is simply Time-chakra shaped like a blade. It sounds simple, but it actually involves the knowledge and ability to use the Force in a direct hand-to-hand fight."

He aimed at the branch of a young tree and slashed. for a second, nothing happened, then the branch simply fell off. A closer look revealed that the wood had practically rotted away. Naruto stabbed the branch, and in seconds, it fell apart.

Naruto nodded to himself. It had actually worked. As for the tree, not only had he grown it himself for the sole purpose of demonstration, but had also ensured to not kill it, so Kimori or any of her subjects had no reason to be angry with him. The last thing Naruto needed was an angry elemental on his heels.

He turned back to his stunned audience. "As you can see, a sword made of Time-chakra does not cut, it ages. If I were to use it against a human, he or she would likely become very wrinkly around the point of penetration, or, if I fight bare-handed, the point of impact. A sufficient number of hits will be fatal. Sakura, if you manage to master this with Gravity, you will be able to freely alter the weight of any object you come in contact with by altering their gravitational field. Though don't get your hopes up, I've been working on my affinities for almost two years, and they still both need more work before they could actually be practical in battle. I need all my concentration and at least fifteen seconds to create the chakra, never mind preventing it from dispersing, so not only am I a sitting duck while charging it, but even after that, my combat-abilities are dampened. As for you Sasuke, I don't think you're ready yet to learn how to use your force in close-combat."

If Naruto had expected Sasuke to explode in anger, he was disappointed. Sasuke simply raised a brow and gave Naruto a look. "On what basis?" He asked, only the smallest bit of anger vibrating in his voice.

Naruto shrugged. "On the basis that Void is the most devastating of all Forces in close combat. Time ages, Gravity alters weight, Death causes apoptosis in living beings and weakens inanimate structures to a lesser degree, Space is essentially a blade that cuts all, putting it in second place in terms of damage, but Void does more than that. Void erases all it touches. Basically, if you learned it right now, then you could essentially effortlessly and without even a trace of resistance annihilate almost everything you touch, unless another Force or certain objects of divine and... darker origin are used. And as much as I think of you as a brother Sasuke, I'm not putting such power in anyone's hands until I am absolutely convinced that that person will not abuse it. You will learn different abilities of the Void, but not the absolute annihilation of the close-combat style. Not yet."

Sasuke frowned, but he nodded. As much as he would have liked to be able to do that, he understood Naruto's unease. Such an ability in the wrong hands would undoubtedly lead to a disaster of epic proportions. And it was not as if his friend wasn't going to teach him anything, just not the instant-kill techniques right off the bat. "I understand."

Naruto nodded. "I knew you'd understand." He closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, they were red and slitted. _**"**__**Well then, let's begin."**_

Sakura understood that their teacher would not be Naruto, but the Kyuubi no Kitsune itself. She gulped.

-0-

After that day, Sasuke and Sakura had learned one thing about the infamous bijuu. The Kyuubi was a merciless slavedriver, and a sadist.

Sakura felt worse than ever before, including when Naruto had pumped his chakra into her to enlarge her reserves. Every muscle ached, she had the mother of all migraines, and her chakra-coils felt strained.

Sasuke was doing slightly better, being more used to training, but he too was tired, both physically and mentally, and his coils ached as well.

The reason for this suffering was that Kyuubi had not simply given them instructions, but personally ensured that there was no rest for them. She had pushed them to and far beyond their limits, until both were able to create at least a sliver of their respective Force-chakra.

Sakura was then given a large bottle with a feather in it and the task to alter the speed of the feather's descent after turning it around, while Sasuke was given a ball charged with chakra that he was supposed to absorb.

To ensure a quicker success, Kyuubi almost carefully refilled their reserves with small amounts of Naruto's chakra. Almost carefully meaning that Kyuubi made sure that neither would writhe in agony for a few hours or more.

Since neither of the two had come even close to succeeding their task, Kyuubi simply said they should keep practicing, and that further instructions would only come after they had succeeded in their current task, or to quote _**"**__**I will not waste my time trying to teach you to run when you incompetent imbeciles can't even stand."**_

Naruto had warned them not to take it too seriously, and that Kyuubi had little patience and care when it came to humanity as a whole, let alone mercy, and that he was impressed that they had managed to create Force-chakra, even if it was only a sliver, on their first day of practice, subtly mentioning that even the Hokage had needed three days to accomplish what they had done.

Of course, the old man had less free time to practice, but Naruto saw no need to point that out.

-0-

Dinner was a pleasant affair, with the three genin telling Kakashi about their training, and some more detail about the Forces, Naruto in particular telling about the troubles he went through to reach his current level.

All was well, until Inari decided that now was a good time to share his depressions. He jumped up. "Why are you all even training? It doesn't matter how hard you work, you can't win against Gatou! He'll just kill you!"

For a second, there was silence, then there were chuckles. Sasuke and Naruto were trying to hold in their laughter, but after a few seconds of pointless struggle, it broke out of them.

"Shishishi... Bwahahahaha!"

Sasuke calmed down first, and shook his head. "That was a good one. Gatou is a civilian. He's also a midget, and not exactly fit. Even Sakura, who is the furthest one behind in terms of training, could wipe the floor with him."

Inari frowned. "What do you know? Sitting here and talking big, you know nothing of suffering!"

Krack

Naruto's chopsticks had snapped beneath his fingers. A dangerous silence filled the dining-room, before Naruto broke it, his voice hardly more than a whisper. "I dare you to say that again."

While Inari heard the warning, he was gone too far to realize that he should cut his losses while he still had the chance. "You come from your safe, prosperous village, you never had to go through any hardships, and you think you can just come here and give us, who suffered so much, your stupid lectures? Just shut up when you don't know what you're talking about!"

Sasuke's eyes had widened with the brat's speach, and while he wanted to give the kid a piece of his mind, right now, he had to save himself before Mount Naruto erupted. Grabbing Sakura, who couldn't know what was about to happen, and his sushi, he ducked beneath the table, while Kakashi prepared himself for the explosion that was about to happen.

Naruto had paled, but he remained silent. Instead, the glasses and plates seemed to vibrate. The shaking strengthened, and all present could feel a strong breeze shooting around in the room. "I know nothing of hardship?" Naruto repeated, almost curiously. Then he jumped up, and the breeze turned into a hurricane.

Inari was blown back, his hat torn off his head. "I know nothing of hardship?" Naruto demanded, furious. "I KNOW NOTHING OF HARDSHIP? You self-righteous little shit! You sit here in a warm room, with food on your plate, your loving family around you, and YOU dare lecture ME on hardship? So you lost a parent, Bu hu. My parents died the day I was born. I was alone for years, not wanted by anyone, and you dare to speak to me of suffering? Have you ever slept on cold earth even though it was snowing because you had nowhere else to go? Have you ever eaten dirt just to still your hunger? Licked the water out of a filthy puddle because the alternative was dying of thirst? Have you ever talked to someone even though you knew you'd get beaten, just because the months of absolute loneliness were driving you to madness? HAVE YOU?"

The winds circling Naruto were increasing with every word he spoke, until Inari felt like a ragdoll, wind and the occasional small object slamming into him. He was pressed to the wall, unable to move. Still, he forced his head left and right, just so that it would end.

As sudden as it had started, it was over. The wind ceased, and Inari dropped to the floor. Naruto was standing in front of him, his eyes cold as ice. "You know neither hunger, nor thirst, not summer's heat or winter's chill. And most of all, you have no idea what loneliness really means. Just shut up if you don't know what you're talking about." With that, he turned to Tsunami and bowed. "I apologize for the damage, and I will of course replace anything that I can't fix."

Tsunami nodded, slightly nervous, though reassured at Naruto's polite and friendly way. She understood what it meant to have a sore point, and if what the boy had let slip was true, then it was no wonder he didn't want to be reminded of it, and had zero patience for those who just claimed to suffer while still enjoying life's benefits.

Naruto then turned to his sensei. "I need to cool down. I probably won't be back before tomorrow."

Kakashi nodded. "That may be for the best. Take care of yourself, Naruto."

Naruto nodded and left. A few minutes later, the windows started to shake slightly. Sasuke sighed. "There will be a storm tonight."

-0-

And there was. Naruto's close bond to the wind had the unintended side-effect that his moods had a certain influence on the weather. Of course he didn't have the power to actually alter the weather all by himself, for that, his affinities in Water and Lightning would have to become equal to his Wind-affinity, and that would take years, but his power sufficed to effectively start a chain-reaction that resulted in a typhoon over Nami. Nobody was foolish enough to go out that evening, when the wind tore at the windows and doors, and the unfortunate souls outside, mostly mercenaries hired by Gatou, would go through the worst night of their lives.

One of the worst storms in the history of Nami no Kuni blew over the land, all to release the anger of a single jinchuuriki that braved it, roaring against the wind, until he finally exhausted himself to the point of collapse.

The storm blew a few hours more, before slowly dying out in the morning hours. Slowly, life crawled back out of its holes, and the daily trot began once again. One such person will gain importance later on, and deserves a closer look.

-0-

Naruto awakened at the feeling of another presence close by. He could feel wet grass beneath him, and the sun was warming his face. A few birds seemed to have chosen him as a good spot to rest, his instincts counting them as harmless. How had he gotten here?

Then he remembered his outburst. 'Shit. This close to a coast, there was probably a large storm tonight. Well, the only question now is who the person close to me is.' Naruto laid still, giving no indication that he had noticed his guest, wanting to see what intentions he or she had.

A shadow fell over his eyes. For an instant, there was a spike of killing-intent, but it was gone a second later, and Naruto felt a hand shake his shoulder. "Wake up. You'll catch your death if you sleep on the ground, especially after a storm like last night."

He opened his eyes, and was surprised. The face looking back was that of a beauty. Long raven hair, a friendly smile, and kind dark eyes. Naruto smiled back. "Don't worry, I've had worse. I'm Naruto by the way. Naruto Uzumaki."

"Pleased to meet you. My name is Haku." The stranger replied.

Really pretty. There was only one thing that slightly disturbed him. "Haku, no offense, but... you're a boy, aren't you?"

Haku's eyes widened, and a gleam of long suffering flickered through his eyes, together with an almost insane glee. "You can tell? You're the first that could tell!"

Naruto got the feeling that while Haku enjoyed messing with others, which explained him wearing pink, there was a certain annoyance that had formed. Apparently people often mistook him for a girl. He took a step back. "Well, I have good instincts, and you have an Adam's apple, though a small one, not to mention that your voice is a bit too deep at times, indicating that you're still going through puberty."

Haku was happily nodding to every word. "You're right. I wish more people paid attention like you."

Naruto shrugged. "So, what are you doing here?" He asked.

Haku raised a basket, filled with herbs. "A friend of mine is injured. I'm gathering some herbs for him, and after the storm, I have to see how many places are still usable."

Naruto looked around. A lot of branches had been torn off, lying around all over the floor. Ups. "Can I help?" Naruto asked.

Haku smiled. "Sure."

For a while, both worked in silence, then Naruto asked "And how is Zabuza doing?"

Haku froze. "...Pardon?" He asked, hoping to feign ignorance.

Naruto smiled. "When you first found me, there was a burst of killing-intent. Also, you're moving far too graceful for a civilian. You're the fake hunter-nin that saved Zabuza. Looking at the herbs you've gathered, I'd estimate he still can't move much. How is his arm by the way?" A second later, he jumped to the side to avoid a load of senbon.

Haku's eyes had turned cold. "I won't allow you to harm Zabuza-sama."

Naruto raised his hands. "Whoa, calm down. I have no intention of harming Zabuza. Well, unless he attacks Tazuna again."

"How do I know that's true?" Haku asked, but he didn't throw any more senbon.

Naruto rolled his eyes, before making a quick motion, and the senbon in Haku's hands were cut in half. "If I wanted to kill you, you would already be dead. Your guard was down long enough for me to slice open your jugular veins like I just did your senbon. Take my not doing so as a sign of good will. Personally I don't understand why you work for Gatou, though my guess is that you badly need money."

Haku's wide eyes gave Naruto all the answer he needed. "As I thought. That exploding-tag Zabuza nailed me with was probably one of his last, and he is practically unarmed. The reason he goes without shirt is that he's trying to make it look like he has decided he only needs his sword, though in reality, you probably don't have the resources to buy more. My guess is that your only weapons are senbon, which are fairly cheap. You do realize that Gatou is not the type to keep his word."

Haku seemed insecure, Naruto having apparently spoken something that Haku himself had suspected for a while. "What are you trying to say?"

Naruto smiled. "Well, you could always join us. Not as a servant or anything, but both the Uchiha and the Namikaze would grant you protection, as long as you have committed no crime, not counting Zabuza's missions as a Kiri-shinobi, against Konoha or its allies. Recruiting missing-nin is a common practice after all."

Haku did a short mental recount, and couldn't remember anything they had done against Konoha. He sighed. "While tempting, there are two things speaking against it. For one, we have no way of trusting you. Second, we are professionals. We do not betray our employers unless they betray us first. As such, I must decline."

Naruto shrugged, understanding where Haku was coming from. "Oh well, can't say I didn't expect the reply. Still, the offer is open, perhaps you will both change your minds later. I've informed myself about Zabuza, and as far as missing-nin go, he seems to be a decent one. He still has his honor, that's more than one can say for most."

Haku bristled, but nodded. It was true, they had done things that he wasn't proud of, things that most would call 'evil', but at the heart, Zabuza was a good person. "Perhaps. Farewell." With that, he left in a _shunshin_.

Naruto couldn't help but smile. The day had been productive. He now had confirmation that Zabuza wasn't in any condition to fight yet, meaning they still had plenty of time to train. Also, he had found that he liked Haku as a person, and would rather have him alive on his side than dead before his feet, meaning that he'd try to recruit him. He reserved his judgment about Zabuza until he actually had a chance to talk to him outside of taunting each other on the battlefield. In any case, both would make good allies, if he managed to convince them to be such.

Pondering these new potential allies he turned to return to the place he had angrily left the evening before.

-0-

The next few days were all the same; the three genin training, Kakashi recovering, Naruto's clones working on the bridge under Tazuna's supervision.

Sakura's control had returned to its old level, only with much more chakra, and she was making good progress on her Gravity-affinity. She was still a beginner, but she could now create Gravity-chakra in amounts great enough to create weak gravitational fields in just over a minute. She could also now control the volume and the distribution of her sound-jutsu, and was in fact trying to come out with new variations.

Sasuke's training was less diverse, but in return, he could form Void-chakra in thirty seconds, and had the basics of draining chakra from an enemy and using it for yourself down, though he still needed five minutes to cause a single _Kage Bunshin_ to pop from lack of chakra.

While that didn't sound like much, considering the difficulty of Forces, the two were prodigies. Also, before Kyuubi told them how to do anything with their Force-chakra, both Sasuke and Sakura had to be able to produce it from every part of her bodies on command, and they had to practice hourly to improve their time.

Naruto on the other hand was working mainly on his new jutsu, though he still trained both his body and his skills with his blade. There was progress, but...

-0-

Naruto frowned in concentration. His index-finger was extended, and wind was spiraling it, creating static electricity that mixed with the Lightning-chakra he focused at its tip. A small ball of lightning was forming, slowly growing from the size of a flea to the size of an ant.

Suddenly Naruto cursed. "Shit!"

Sasuke knew his friend well enough to immediately connect the dots. He tackled Sakura, throwing them both to the ground.

A second later, the ball exploded into a myriad of lightning that arched everywhere, smashing holes into the nearby trees and rocks.

Sasuke had used his own Lightning-affinity to redirect the bolts heading for him and Sakura, while Naruto's wind scattering all that aimed for him.

When the chaos died down, Sasuke slowly rose, his breath heavy. "Naruto... you... dobe! What's the big idea?"

Naruto scratched the back of his head and laughed nervous. "Hehehe. Sorry. I need a lot of power to get range and penetration, but with the amount I need, it's really tricky not to lose control."

Sasuke his him up the head. "Idiot! A little heads up next time, is that too much to ask for?"

Naruto raised his hands in defense. "Sorry, won't happen again."

-0-

Suffice to say, that particular jutsu was still not even close to complete. However, a few days before the estimated day of combat, one more thing occurred. Something that seemed grand, but in reality was only the beginning of an even greater chain of events that would shake the world in its foundations.

-0-

The rematch, as Kakashi had called it in jest, was less than a week away. Team 7 had gathered to discuss the coming days.

"So Naruto, how much do you know about Hyouton?"

Naruto shrugged. "Not much. There are two versions. The first is used mainly in nations like Yuki no Kuni, where they simply use existing ice for their techniques. It's superior to Suiton, but it doesn't require wind. The second version is what Haku apparently has. It uses both Water- and Wind-chakra and can be called the true Hyouton. It's by far superior, and I wouldn't be surprised if Haku can imbed his Ice with special abilities."

"That much is obvious, but for human standards, it is a necessary warning." A new voice rang out.

Four heads spun, staring at the speaker, who was leaning against a tree.

It was a man, seemingly in his early twenties. His hair was red as blood and fell past his shoulders like water. His features were so even that they almost looked like a fine mask, his eyes hidden beneath a pair of sunglasses, though his ears were oddly pointy. He was wearing an exquisitely made black mantle that spiked at the shoulders, gloves, and elegant boots, both boots and gloves decorated with thorn-vines. What really stood out was that he was carrying something large on his back.

The man pushed himself up, and Team 7 could identify the object. It was a coffin. However, not an ordinary wooden box, this one seemed to be made of metal. It was black and decorated with what looked like silver vines with droplets clinging to it. The top was made to look like a giant bat. The wings were folded before the chest, while a surprisingly realistic bat-head with large sharp teeth was on the top.

What really unnerved the four was that the man had managed to come this close without anyone sensing even the faintest hint of his presence.

Kakashi's eye narrowed. "Who are you?" He demanded, his hand inching to his weapons.

The man smiled. "My name is of no importance here." Then he removed his glasses, and Naruto paled.

His iris was yellow, his pupil slitted, and his sclera black as the darkest nights. Naruto took a step back, his hand shooting to his sword. Anything else would only be a waste of time and effort.

Sasuke noticed his friends fear. "What's wrong?" He asked.

Naruto gulped, and said only one word, at which Sasuke's blood ran cold. "Vampire."

The man laughed. It was a cold laugh that revealed his sharp fangs. "Correct, host of the Nine-tailed Fox. I am indeed a vampire, and compared to me, the one you met, Maria, was but a child."

Naruto's throat was oddly dry. "What would someone like you want here?" He managed to stammer out.

The vampire smiled, set the coffin down and pressed one of the decorations, that caused the wings of the coffin to open slightly, revealing a hilt. The vampire pulled the rapier out and pointed it at them. "I wish to test you all. En Garde."

Naruto barely had time to pull out his blade before the immortal was on top of him and block the decapitating strike. But even though he had reinforced himself, the sheer force behind the strike blew him back.

Instead of rushing after him, the vampire turned on Sasuke, who had pulled out two of his daggers. Sasuke stared wide-eyed when he blocked a thrust, only for the vampire to slightly flick his wrist and send him flying. Kakashi jumped forward, using two kunai to block a blow that would have gutted the airborne Sasuke. The rapier sank into them like they were wooden, but the kunai stopped the blade once it reached the center. Then the shinobi jumped back, ready for the next strike.

The vampire raised a brow. "That truly is an excellent sword. I had expected it to shatter." He glanced around. "The boy's daggers are of a similar quality, while the knives the man has is not as good, though still enough to not break immediately. Perhaps this will be fun. Entertain me!"

Naruto spat out. It seemed there was no way out of this, so he'd have to give it his best shot. He pulled his blade to him until it was horizontal, the hilt at his lips and the blade extending to the right. He looked at the blade and whispered a single word. "Hum."

The blade seemed to blur slightly. The vampire smiled. "I see. High-speed vibration. Indeed, with that, you would be able to cut through nearly anything. However, my rapier is not forged by mortal hand, and will withstand your blows. Still, show me what you got!"

Sasuke's grip on his daggers tightened, while Kakashi drew a new pair of kunai. Sakura seemed unsure of what to do, and fell back a bit, noting that their enemy had apparently estimated her threat-level as beneath his notice.

Naruto and Sasuke had fallen back into their perfect teamwork, with Kakashi working support, but it was clear that the vampire was still way out of their league. He had yet to receive a single scratch, while the three mortals were covered in shallow cuts. Naruto had been disarmed when he protected Kakashi from being gutted, and Kakashi had formed a _Raikiri_ in his hand to use the focused energy as a protection, hoping that the rapier would act as a lightning-rod.

The vampire looked at them, seemingly bored, as he cut Naruto's arm open. "That's not enough. If you can't do more, then I'm afraid I'll have to..." His eyes widened as the blood he had spilled formed razor-sharp tips that fired themselves at him, while a long, sickle-like blade of blood shot out of Naruto's arm, giving him a deep gash through his left eye.

"_Ninpou: Banshi no Kyatu!_" The vampire's head spun around, his remaining eye still wide. He had estimated the girl to be too weak, and completely forgotten about her. That was a fatal mistake, as Sakura had moved to a position in which she could strike without hitting her comrades.

Unlike before, the sound-wave was not just spreading, it was more like a blast of incredibly violent sound that actually shredded objects in its path. The vampire didn't have time to react, and was caught in the center of the attack.

For a second, he simply stood there, unmoving, then two fountains of blood shot out of his ears, coloring the ground crimson. Not one to waste a golden opportunity, Kakashi rushed at the vampire's back and rammed his hand through it, destroying the heart, before jumping back.

Naruto had used a chakra-string to retrieve his blade, and horizontally slashed through his chest and arms with his right hand. His left was open, fingers straight, and covered in an odd distortion, as he pulled it down vertically in front of the vampire's face, the distortion extending behind the devil. More blood sprayed as the vampire was cut into four pieces, the cuts ironically forming a perfect cross.

To make sure, Sasuke immediately sent a fireball so hot that it was glowing white, to make sure that nothing of the monster remained. Then the four stood there, looking at the flames as they slowly flickered out of existence.

Clap, clap, clap.

Four heads spun around, and seven eyes widened at the sight of the red-haired vampire standing there unharmed, the coffin once again horizontally on his back. "Very impressive. That was what I was hoping to see. Naruto Uzumaki, your usage of Space and your blood was quite impressive. Your comrades are also more than I had hoped. Still, after taking in all that, I believe that one more test is needed right now."

He pressed another decoration, and the mouth of the bat opened with a CLACK, releasing a giant spray of blood. The humans jumped back, unsure of what the vampire had planned.

But the mighty devil just stood there, a smile on his face. He looked at Naruto. "Tell me boy, what do you know of the Netherworld?"

Naruto blinked due to the obscure question. "It's a parallel world, completely different and independent from this one. There are no humans, it has completely different elements, and... No way!"

The vampire's grin widened. "Correct." With that, he merged with the shadows and was gone.

-0-

Naruto on the other hand was in a panic. "RETREAT! WE HAVE TO GET OUT OF HERE!"

Sakura stared at him. "What's wrong?"

Naruto gestured wildly at the spread blood, that seemed to vibrate slightly. "That! That madman released a Netherworld Elemental! GO!"

The blood meanwhile began to rise, as if gravity had reversed, before gathering.

Naruto groaned. "It's too late. Fuck!"

Kakashi looked at him. "Why are you so panicked?"

Naruto stared at him. "The Netherworld has its own set of elements, and logically, its own set of Elementals. That over there" he pointed at the stirring red blob "is a Blood-Elemental. Whatever you do, don't make contact with it. While your existence will protect you from immediate drain, if that Elemental gets into a single cut, it will suck all the blood right out of you, and I can guarantee that won't be fun."

The blob had finished forming, deciding on a appearance. Up to the hips, she looked to be a fairly attractive woman, if one wasn't bothered by the fact that she was entirely red, being made solely of blood. On her head were something that resembled upside down bat-wings, but could also be horns. She 'wore' a shoulder-less dress with long, frilly sleeves, though the frills had sharp endings which looked more like small spears. She had even added a necklace with a, what else, tear-shaped stone. Her lower body made it clear to even the most colorblind that she was not human. Instead of legs, there was a swirling blob floating two feet above the ground that constantly changed shape, though thorny vines seemed to be a preferred motive. Aside from those, Naruto spotted bats and other animals, flowers, and bizarre outgrowths, each of them potentially able to end them all.

The Elemental smiled, and laughed. Her voice was melodic and pleasant, though it had a certain slightly damp tone to it, signifying that its owner was indeed liquid. _**"Ah, sweet freedom. But this is not the Netherworld. Oh well, for now, a bit of nourishment will do me good. Hold still, this won't hurt one little bit. I'm not going to feel a thing."**_ With that, the vines shot at them, intending to tear wounds.

Team 7 had been warned by Naruto, and dodged the lethal whips. The Elemental was unconcerned and sent out her blood-bats, who were slightly slower but harder to predict.

Sasuke shot a fireball at both the bats and the central body, hoping to do some damage, or at least distract the Elemental. But the Elemental simply scattered and reformed, the bats not even slowed.

Then Sakura tripped. It had been bad luck really, she still had enough chakra for some boosted jumps, but the pebbles she had landed on gave way, and she fell on her back. A vine shot at her, straight as a spear. She closed her eyes, waiting for the end.

SQUELSH

She opened her eyes. Naruto had jumped before her, taking the hit. "Naruto!" Sakura called out when she saw the veins around the wound. Naruto grimaced, but whispered "_Ketsuryuu Koushin!_"

The swelling of the veins didn't decrease, but it seemed to change. "Naruto, what are you doing?" Sasuke demanded. "'Reversing Blood-Flow'? Do you really think you can take in an Elemental?"

Naruto was sweating and grimacing under the strain, but he forced out an answer. "If I don't... try,... we're all... doomed!"

The Elemental seemed amused, and gave Naruto a curious look. _**"Very brave. But do you really think a mere mortal can win against an Elemental?"**_

Naruto looked at her, grim determination in his eyes. "I am... no mere... MORTAL!" With that, his eyes turned crimson, and the tug increased.

The Elemental's eyes widened as it was sucked into Naruto, whose veins seemed to burst under the increasing amount and pressure in them. Then he collapsed.

-0-

In his mind, Naruto heard chuckles, then a voice. _**"Fufufufu, that was brave, but extremely foolish, Naruto Namikaze-Uzumaki. Even with the Kyuubi aiding you, I am far more familiar with my element. Your mastery of blood is weak, a cheap imitation compared to what a true Blood-affinity can do."**_

Naruto felt despair bubble inside of him. It had been a desperate move, and it had apparently failed. Now how would he protect his comrades?

The Elemental laughed. _**"Even when faced with death, you care for your comrades? Not a bad attitude, though you need to see your own worth more. You are important for the future child, and you cannot fulfill your destiny if you get yourself killed. As the Queen of Blood-Elementals, I order you not to die. But still, you pass."**_

Then the voice was gone, and Naruto felt something leave him. The Elemental, no, the Queen-Elemental was using his blood as a gateway to her own realm!

Naruto blinked. This all had been a test?

Then Kyuubi spoke. _**"Naruto Namikaze-Uzumaki, who are you?"**_

Naruto was confused. 'What are you talking about?'

"_**Who are you that a Queen-Elemental of the Netherworld praises you? Who are you that a Prince of Hell tests you?"**_ Kyuubi replied.

'Prince of Hell?'

"_**The one you fought was no mere vampire. That was Dracula, the first vampire, the mightiest of them all. Powerful enough to become one of Hell's Princes. Just who are you that he of all beings is interested in you?"**_ Kyuubi growled.

Naruto had no answer. Madara spoke. _"He is someone special. He is one, yet four, as the Wood-Elemental said. He holds the skills of the Uchiha and the Senju, the power of the Kyuubi no Kitsune, and the knowledge of a seal-master."_

Hashirama seemed to agree. **"Through you, he has access to knowledge long lost. It is no surprise that he has gained the interest of immortals. What else do they have to do but look for something special?"**

Minato also had something to add. "Still, that Elemental spoke of destiny, and that vampire also mentioned something about tests and not enough. I get the feeling they know something we don't."

Kyuubi nodded. _**"Perhaps. There is an oracle that has never failed before. If she spoke a **__**prophesy after I was sealed, then it could explain the interest. But if that's the truth, then you should train much harder Naruto. Because if your destiny is grand enough to interest Hell's Princes, then to accomplish it you would need far more power than you have."**_

"**Would it be possible to visit this oracle, and learn the truth directly?"** Hashirama asked.

Kyuubi shook its head. _**"Not at the moment. We do not have the time for such a journey right now."**_

"Yes, especially since, ignoring today's events, there is still a mission that Naruto needs to accomplish." Minato added.

"_That's true."_ Madara agreed _"But for now, the boy needs rest."_

With that, the darkness completely claimed Naruto.

* * *

Chapter 13 is done. It felt like forever, but I finally managed to finish it. I can't believe it took me half a year!

To all wondering, I haven't given up on any of my stories, it's just that I don't have much free time, now that I've been drafted into the military. Should I ever decide to abandon one, trust me, I'll let you know immediately.

Well, I don't think anyone can complain that nothing happened in this chapter. Yes, I made Haku a boy. He does make a good girl, but here, I just decided that he should be male. In other fics I may decide differently, but here, Haku is a boy, and he will stay a boy, end of discussion.

There was some progress with the Forces, but nothing dramatic yet. Sakura has gained a jutsu that I find was made for her, and used it to give the true king of vampires an injury that would have killed any lesser being. And Naruto learns that he may be more than a talented genin striving towards the title of Hokage.

There will be a fight on the bridge, but the Wave-arc should be all wrapped up next chapter, when we will see a few more tricks Naruto has up his sleeve, and just why Madara was so certain that he'd survive no matter how the battle against Hashirama ended. I never liked the explanation 'He got his brother's eyes, so he's immortal', so I made my own.

Naruto trying to pull an Elemental in was a homage to the stupid spur-of-the-moment-decisions that children and canon-Naruto are known for. However, in the end, it was the only way to pass the test.

I've put links for Dracula's and the Blood-Elemental's pictures on my profile, wait a few minutes if they're not there immediately, though they should be by now.

In any case, I guess I'll describe the new jutsu I invented in this chapter.

_Raiton: Kyoudan_ (Lightning Release: Assassin's Bullet)  
Rank: A  
Range: Long (10m+)  
Type: Assassination  
A jutsu developed by Naruto. It uses large amounts of Lightning-chakra, compressing it into a small orb that is fired like a bullet. It flies in a straight line, and has great penetration, easily able of smashing through half an inch of solid steel. Still, the speed of this jutsu is lower than the speed of sound, making it too slow to be of real use against an expert-shinobi, as he would have time to dodge. An improved version is in work.

_Ninpou: Banshi no Kyatu_ (Ninja Art: Shriek of the Banshee)  
Rank: ?  
Range: Short (0-5m) Middle (5-10m) Long (10m+)  
Type: Offensive  
A jutsu designed for Sakura Haruno. It amplifies the voice of the user, and allows precise control of the emitted sound-waves. This jutsu increases in strength not only with added chakra, but also with the strength of the user's voice. Sakura has shown to be able to use it on a scale that would be instantly fatal to humans, and it is estimated that it could do even more.

_Ketsuryuu Koushin_ (Reversing Blood-Flow)  
Rank: -  
Range: Short (0m)  
Type: Support  
This technique is a result of the _Chishio Seiha_. The technique simply reverses the blood-flow within the body. Not a good idea to use on the entire body, as that can easily lead to death, but useful in preventing a injury from bleeding out. Also, when facing an opponent that can also manipulate blood, this jutsu can be used to prevent from being drained, unless the opponent is significantly more powerful.

Now onto the Q&A

Q: Will Sasuke learn of 'Kitsune's' identity?  
A: Perhaps someday, but not in the immediate future. It's not like Naruto can just go to him and say "Hey Sasuke, remember the ANBU with the fully evolved Sharingan that frightened your brother away? Well that was me. How I have the Sharingan? Funny story really..." You see my point?

Q: Can Naruto copy bloodlines by draining the owner of blood?  
A: No. Naruto can use the blood as a weapon, but he cannot gain any attributes that the owner of the blood has.

Q: Will Maria make another appearance?  
A: Yes. Yes she will. And it will scare the shit out of Naruto.

Well, that's all for now,

Please Review


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